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Greenhaven, Georgia

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Coordinates: 33°44′14″N 84°13′51″W / 33.73722°N 84.23083°W / 33.73722; -84.23083
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Greenhaven
Proposed City
Greenhaven is located in Metro Atlanta
Greenhaven
Greenhaven
Proposed location of Greenhaven in Metro Atlanta
Coordinates: 33°44′14″N 84°13′51″W / 33.73722°N 84.23083°W / 33.73722; -84.23083
CountryUnited States
StateGeorgia
CountyDeKalb
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)

Greenhaven is a proposed city in southern DeKalb County, Georgia, outside Atlanta. It would consolidate several areas of DeKalb County south of U.S. Route 78, excluding the city of Stonecrest. Greenhaven would be the second largest city in the state after Atlanta, with a population of 300,000—of which 87 percent are African-American.[1] The proposed city was announced by a city group in 2015 and unsuccessfully brought to the state legislature for approval three times, most recently in 2018.

History

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The group Concerned Citizens for Cityhood of South DeKalb was formed in 2014 to explore cityhood for southern DeKalb County.[2] Unincorporated suburban areas of Metro Atlanta region, including northern DeKalb County, had formed new cities in the late 2000s, spurred by the success of Sandy Springs.[1][3] While the group considered annexing into nearby cities, including Atlanta,[4] it chose to pursue a new city to spur economic development and protest the region's lone participation county's pension plan.[5][6] The name "Greenhaven" was announced in January 2015, representing sustainability; under the plan, the city would have a population of 295,000 residents and include most of DeKalb County south of U.S. Route 78, excluding the proposed city of Stonecrest.[5][6]

Two groups, Citizens Against Cityhood in Dekalb and Neighbors Against Greenhaven, were formed to oppose the Greenhaven proposal, citing a potential decrease in property values.[1] Other residents voiced their opposition on the proposed taxes to fund the new city, including those paying for the salaries of city officials.[7]

A bill to grant cityhood to Greenhaven, pending a public referendum, was introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives during the 2015 legislative session, alongside a similar bill for Stonecrest. Both proposals failed to advance past committee consideration and never made it to the House floor.[8][9] A similar version of the bill was approved by the Georgia State Senate, but failed to reach the House floor after being rejected by the House Governmental Affairs Committee, over public opposition to the cityhood measure.[10] A third attempt was started in 2017 under the Senate's revised two-year process for new cities, which delayed legislative action until 2018.[11] The bill passed the House Governmental Affairs Committee,[12] but failed to receive a House floor vote.[13]

The cityhood proposal was revived in late 2021 as the City of DeKalb, which would cover the same region of the county.[14]

Description

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Greenhaven would be located in the southwest corner of DeKalb County, bordered by Atlanta to the west and Stonecrest to the east. The proposed city would have a population of approximately 300,000 people, making it the second largest city in the state, after Atlanta, and 87 percent of its residents would be African-American, a higher percentage than Atlanta's 53 percent.[1][15] The median income of the area's residents is approximately $41,418, slightly above the rest of the unincorporated county.[16]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Mock, Brentin (February 27, 2018). "The Quest for a New Black City in Georgia". CityLab. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  2. ^ George, Lisa (July 18, 2014). "Another New Cityhood Push in DeKalb County". WABE. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  3. ^ Niesse, Mark (February 21, 2015). "New cities could further split Atlanta region". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  4. ^ Murchison, Adrianne (October 28, 2014). "Expert explains what cityhood means for South DeKalb". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  5. ^ a b Parker, Carla (February 6, 2015). "Proposed South DeKalb city named Greenhaven". The Champion. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  6. ^ a b Yu, Elly (January 30, 2015). "South DeKalb's "Greenhaven" Would Be Second Largest City In Georgia". WABE. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  7. ^ Mitchell, Tia (February 27, 2018). "DeKalb: Bill creating city of Greenhaven moves forward in House". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved January 16, 2019.
  8. ^ Niesse, Mark (March 11, 2015). "House approves cities of LaVista Hills and Tucker". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  9. ^ Yu, Elly (April 7, 2015). "Two Atlanta Metro Cityhood Proposals Move Forward". WABE. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  10. ^ Niesse, Mark (March 16, 2016). "Greenhaven cityhood proposal dies in committee". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  11. ^ Niesse, Mark (April 7, 2017). "4 new cities proposed by Georgia legislators". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  12. ^ Whisenhunt, Dan (February 27, 2018). "Proposed city of Greenhaven approved by House committee, improving its chances". Decaturish.com. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
  13. ^ Mitchell, Tia (March 1, 2018). "DeKalb bills to abolish CEO and create Greenhaven city fall short in Ga. House". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved March 16, 2018.
  14. ^ Estep, Tyler (November 29, 2021). "New proposal for massive 'city of DeKalb' surfaces". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved February 17, 2022.
  15. ^ Galloway, Jim (March 23, 2011). "A census speeds Atlanta toward racially neutral ground". Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on September 13, 2014. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
  16. ^ Yu, Elly (May 28, 2015). "DeKalb Residents Ready To Fight For New Cities". WABE. Retrieved February 28, 2018.
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