City of Dunwoody Proposed

December 6, 2005
By Cathy Cobbs
For The Crier

http://www.thecrier.net/articles/2005/12/07/front/city.txt

Following on the heels of the successful incorporation of the city of Sandy Springs, several local leaders are floating the idea of creating a city of Dunwoody. State Sen. Dan Weber (R-Dunwoody) held an informal meeting at St. Luke’s Presbyterian Church last week with a hand-picked group of local activists and outlined his analysis of financial and political reasoning behind the move to incorporate Dunwoody.

“As I present these facts, I’m going to try to be objective, but, at the same time, I’m going to admit I’m biased,” Weber told the group of about 50 attendees. “I want a city of Dunwoody and I think we need it.”

With a series of storyboards and power point slides, Weber laid out demographic facts and financials regarding the idea. The city would stretch south to I-285, north and west to Fulton County and east to Gwinnett County, with a population of about 40,000 people.

Emphasizing that the projections are extremely preliminary, Weber said his analysis indicates that, maintaining current levels of service being provided by the county, a City of Dunwoody would generate about $25 million in revenues, while cost of operations would run about $15 million.

“These are very rough numbers,” he emphasized. “This is just a starting point.”

Weber listed several pros and cons to forming a city. On the positive side, he said, it would provide an opportunity to develop a greater sense of responsiveness to the needs of citizens, the ability to complete more quickly the master plan for Brook Run Park and expand other area parks, local control over zoning issues, the opportunity to build community spirit and a chance to provide better police services.

On the negative side, he said, the effort would take time, money and the commitment of many to make the city a reality, a concern that a city of Dunwoody might not be able to provide a high level of services to its citizens, that taxes might have to be raised to achieve the city’s objectives, and the possibility that the projections of a surplus may not be accurate.

Another important factor to consider, Weber said, is the fact that schools in the Dunwoody area would not be autonomous. State law dictates that schools remain under the auspices of the county, regardless of an area’s incorporation.

However, he pointed out, having control over zoning laws would help regulate the amount of new housing in the area, and thus regulate growth. Currently, there are more than 2,000 apartment and condominium units being planned or under construction in the Perimeter area, which will strain the area’s already overcrowded elementary schools.

That construction is moving forward at a rapid pace as a result of a loophole in the O & I zoning, which allows developers, without any form of rezoning procedures, to tear down office properties and construct an apartment complex of five stories.

DeKalb County District 1 Commissioner Elaine Boyer, along with members of the Dunwoody Homeowners’ Association, has been working to close the loophole, but the issue has not been resolved.

The next steps, Weber said, would be engaging a feasibility study by an independent entity, one that would cost about $30,000. Following a decision to move forward would mean the forming of a charter, which the Georgia Assembly would have to pass. The initiative would have to be voted upon with a referendum, possibly in late 2006 or 2007.

After lengthy discussion, the meeting was adjourned without a decision regarding the next step.

After the meeting, DHA president Ken Wright said he was intrigued by the idea of a City of Dunwoody, but said the DHA had not taken an official position on the matter.

The DHA board did, however, decide at its Sunday meeting, to listen to a presentation at the group’s annual meeting in late January.

Wright said that he saw merits in the formation of a city, but added that DeKalb County also provides good services, with some exceptions.

”DeKalb County is certainly a great county, and seems to overall have efficient operations, but I’ve personally had many sleepless nights about the ongoing zoning issues, like the O&I apartment loophole,” he said. “I have personally seen that the O&I loophole has had an extremely detrimental effect on our community.”

Wright emphasized that the issue is more about Dunwoody than DeKalb.

“This isn’t about DeKalb County,” he said. This is about our community. The question is, would we be better off in 10 years as a city of 50,000 or as a county of 700,000? I don’t know the answer to that question, but if the residents of Dunwoody-DeKalb to individually decide whether forming a city would be something they would favor, then they need to step up to the plate and be vocal and financially supportive of that initiative.”