The proposed city covering much of southern Dekalb county will no longer go by the working moniker "South Dekalb". The Concerned Citizens for Cityhood of South Dekalb (CCCSD) selected
the name Greenhaven from a growing list which included names such as New Phoenix and Sky City.
the name Greenhaven from a growing list which included names such as New Phoenix and Sky City.
The logo, featuring a big city-style skyline, was unveiled at a conference held at the Wesley Chapel Library earlier today. CCCSD's explanation for the name is In all of nature, the color GREEN is associated with sustainable life. Life that is creative, productive, inspiring and present in abundance. We chose HAVEN because it suggests a place where all life (human life in particular) is VALUED, SAFE and PROTECTED. CCCSD said, "Greenhaven shall be a place where human creativity, accountability, productivity, economic development and responsibility live."
There were between 50 and 60 people at the conference, according to the CCCSD. Media representation included the AJC, WABE 90.1 radio and Crossroads News. Dekalb commissioner Larry Johnson spoke and state legislators, Dee Dawkins Haigler and Pam Stephenson came out, Stephenson spoke and announced that she will carry the cityhood bill.
Written by:
Ari Meier handles the social media and content creation for CCCSD and is a resident and advocate of the future Greenhaven. His day job is Social Media Marketing and Content Creator at Hawaii-based real estate solutions provider, PEMCO Limited. He's also an author of three books, a modern painter and plays keyboards in his indie rock band, blue.math.
Why does the Greenhaven sky line logo look like the New York sky line. The new city of South DeKalb want ever look like New. However came up with that logo is hallucinating or psychotic. The logos for Dunwoody, Brookhaven and the other cities are more realistic.
ReplyDeleteHey Invisible Man, the skyline is that of a generic skyline. Honestly no one knows what the city of Greenhaven (if it passes) would look like in the future. Sure, it doesn't look like this now, but if one would have asked a person living in Dunwoody or Sandy Springs back in 1970, what their skylines would look like in the future (even a mere 15-20 years later), they would have have probably said the same thing. After all, both areas were unincorporated and very rural, but look at them now. We don't know.
DeleteAlso, if the City of Greenhaven becomes a reality, the current logo may not be the final logo used for the city.
DeleteThe residents are being held with a gun barrel pointed at our head. The tactic is fear. We are being told that we will have to pay more taxes than the others in the county if we do not form a city. I say take the issue to court.
ReplyDeleteWhat are the options in south DeKalb? Create a city, create multiple small cities, or maintain the status quo.
The new south DeKalb city as proposed by the Concerned Citizens for Cityhood in South DeKalb would be smaller in land size than the city of Atlanta, and would include approximately 300,000 residents. The city would be approximately 90% African American. It would be largest in DeKalb by far, and it would be the second largest city in the State of Georgia. But this city, which would encompass most of unincorporated South DeKalb County, would be the second largest in Georgia with nearly 300,000 residents. The proposed map would include everything in DeKalb south of U.S. 78 up to I-285, excluding a proposed city of Stonecrest, and everything south of Memorial Drive on the other side of 285.
The largest city in DeKalb is Dunwoody and Brookhaven which has 46,000 and 49,000 residents, Both Brookhaven and Dunwoody already had significant economic development in their communities prior to their becoming cities in their own right.
The annexation laws should be made stricter, alternative forms of quasi-governmental communities should be considered, private residential associations communities and special districts could also be alternatives to cityhood.
The CCCSD main rational is economic development, avoiding higher taxes and protecting assets. How is the CCCSD defining economic development, is it tax reduction? How will it achieve the economic development that it is portraying in their vision? The elephant in the room that some people want to ignore is that business investments tend not to be significant in areas that have a population of color over 65 percent. New municipalities can impact taxes, school districts, land-use, growth control, environmental regulations, elected representation and public utility services. New municipalities can lead to fragmentation and competition for financial resources between local governments.
The process of forming cities should require a petition before an organization or person can represent themselves as speaking for the community or in the name of the citizens.
There are a lot of unanswered questions that citizens in South DeKalb do not know about in terms of the form of government the new proposed city will have. What kind of mayor or city manager will this new proposed city have? Will the city council be strong? What kind ethnics review will be in the charter?
There should be a way for citizens in South DeKalb opt out of the new city if it does not want to be a part of the shot gun city.
The citizens of DeKalb would be better served if the CCCSD would file a court case against the county and the other cities in regards to the tax liabilities and pension obligations that are not being shared by all the property owners of the county. How can a new city such as the city of Dunwoody or Brookhaven not be equally responsible for pension and bonds that were already obligated prior to their cityhood make no sense.
It would be equally appropriate if our political leaders in DeKalb ask the State Legislators to amend the annexations and consolidation laws to prohibit hostile takeovers, without the consent of the governed. Some states have laws that require the cities to make up for the lose revenue of the county.
It seems that shotgun cities are appearing all over the DeKalb County. Who will pay the county bills once all the local communities become cities? The state Legislature stop this cityhood movement in the county. The county needs leadership on this issue. The citizens should not remain silent on this issue.
Hey, I understand your concerns and sentiment, but keep in mind that by law, there has to be a vote by the citizenry on whether they want a city. The CCCSD's job is to propose and present. Based on the meetings and social media buzz, the citizens that want a city of Greenhaven far outweighs the ones that don't. Many people want more local control of zoning and accountability in their officials.
DeleteCity hood allows us to control our destiny. Secondly, cities run municipalities not counties
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