Cityhood heats up in Gwinnett as hundreds attend town hall

Georgia House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration and state Sen. Clint Dixon, both Republicans, made their case for a large new city in northeastern Gwinnett before a crowd of hundreds Monday night at the Hamilton Mill United Methodist Church.

The crowd, mostly friendly, occasionally applauded the legislators’ statements, but occasionally shouted out skeptical questions or voiced agreement with those who did.

Voters in the 26-square-mile footprint of the proposed city of Mulberry will be asked May 21 whether to approve the new city’s charter — and by extension, the city itself. Early voting begins April 29.

The new city would handle planning and zoning, code enforcement and storm water management. Its population would total about 41,000. With a median household income of about $121,000, it would be the wealthiest city in Gwinnett. The city would also be majority white in a county with an overall population that is about 36% white.

Efstration said he and “an advocate,” whom he did not name, dreamed up the new city in response to an unpopular proposal to build about 700 apartments next to Seckinger High School, which opened two years ago to relieve what was then the high school with the largest enrollment in Georgia, a testament to the area’s fast growth.

The Gwinnett County Planning Commission never approved the proposed development, which has stalled. There is no multi-family housing within the proposed city. But Efstration and Dixon capitalized on residents’ unhappiness with how the county has handled zoning elsewhere.

“We are not going to recognize our community in 10 years if this doesn’t pass,” Efstration said.

Credit: Miguel Martinez

The proposed charter states Mulberry could not provide additional services, or levy municipal property taxes, unless voters approve such measures in a referendum. However, experts and the Legislature’s attorneys have said such provisions unconstitutionally infringe on the city council’s powers.

Efstration said the Georgia Supreme Court has not ruled on the matter and he believed the proposed charter would stand up to legal challenge.

Mulberry would be ruled by a five-member city council. Council members would choose one of their own as mayor. Several people at the town hall expressed opposition, saying they would prefer to directly elect a mayor. Efstration urged them to adopt the charter and change it in the future.

“If it doesn’t pass on May 21st, I don’t know that this can ever pass in the future for this reason: you have such entrenched interest in making sure that the existing system stays in place,” he said.

The city council could amend the charter to change its governance structure or adopt additional taxes, according to the Georgia Municipal Association .

Credit: Miguel Martinez

Signs opposing the proposed city lined the road to the church. Efstration and others said the opposition’s door-knocking campaign was employing people from other states. Door hangers and a website are attributed to Vote No to the City of Mulberry Inc., but the group’s ownership remains unclear and any leading figures have not come forward.

Citizens for Mulberry Inc. President Michael Coker, a local personal injury lawyer, moderated Monday’s town hall.

The Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners unanimously passed a resolution expressing concerns about the impacts of the proposed city and the rapid speed of the incorporation process so far. Some Democratic state legislators have echoed those concerns.

Allen Dale, a 72-year-old retired lineman for General Electric, said he moved to the area from Duluth two years ago and would live in the proposed city. He said he had been opposed to it, but after Monday’s town hall, he was reconsidering.

His main concern was that a city council wouldn’t change anything.

“How do we keep those five guys from turning out to be like the five on the county commission?” he said.

Next City of Mulberry town halls

May 8 and May 14

7 p.m.

Hamilton Mill clubhouse, 1669 Hamilton Mill Parkway, Dacula

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