Final Boundaries Drawn for Proposed City of Brookhaven

Citizens for North DeKalb announced Thursday its final geographic boundaries for the proposed City of Brookhaven study area. The new boundaries will be forwarded to the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia - a necessary step in the process of making Brookhaven its own city.

"We are eager to receive the report from the Carl Vinson Institute so that we can review it and release it to the community.  That has been our mission from the beginning and we are pleased to see our goal within reach," said Doug Dykhuizen, the gorup's president in a release.

The third map comes less than a month after Dresden East residents to organize its community of more than 1,200 homes in an effort to stop - or at least slow down - the incorporation process. Residents there were concerned the boundaries included Dresden East's commercial district, but excluded its residential area without consulting neighbors.

Thursday, however, the group said in a prepared statement the final map no longer includes the Century Center area to the east of Claimont Road, just north of I-85.

"After listening to the concerns of residents in the neighborhoods adjacent to Century Center, the Board of C4ND decided to make this change to better preserve the ability of those residents to explore their own municipal options in the future."

Dresden East resident Justin Childers said he isn't convinced that the group listened closely enough.

"Their new map is a feeble attempt to appease and silence a community that they are stealing from with their new city. As far as I, and many others I have already talked with this morning go, this new map is a slap in the face after we poured our hearts out to them and asked them to go back to their original map that contains their city on the other side of Clairmont Road."

Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-80) praised the group in his note to constituents Friday afternoon by saying that the decision to exclude Century Center was done in the spirit of "fairness and equity".  By contrast, he said, "the PDK parcel is more of a wash from a revenue standpoint.  It is mostly comprised of tax-exempt property and may have some significant expenses associated with it."

By early November the study should be complete and ready to be shared with the community, according to the citizens group. 

"Once we get the report and distribute it, our objective will be largely fulfilled and the community can decide what to do," said Stan Segal, a member of the group and spokesperson.