The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Norcross delays, reconsiders annexation plan
Backers say plan would allow city to tackle high crime rates in the area.
Norcross has tabled plans to revive a controversial annexation following confusion among council members about the scope and timing of the annexation.
The original annexation plan failed to pass the state Legislature in 2019 but would have nearly doubled the size of Norcross by adding 3 square miles and 6,000 residents. The plan was opposed by Gwinnett County offifficials and ultimately failed to pass the Senate.
Councilors ultimately discussed a smaller annexation plan, which would add less than 1 square mile of unincorporated G win nett County land near Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Buford Highway to Norcross’ city limits.
In an interview with The Atlanta Journal- Constitution, Mayor Craig Newton said cit y offifficials were considering alternative plans for annexation but wanted to move forward with the original plan from years ago. But council members couldn’t agree, with most leaning toward a new plan, and called for further analysis of the proposal.
The fifififififive- member council voted unanimously Wednesday night to take up the issue later this summer.
The original annexation plan would capture 3 square miles of land, stretching from Jimmy Carter Boulevard all the way to the Dekalb County line, and bring in hundreds of businesses under the jurisdiction of Norcross. It faced objections from Gwinnett County offifficials in 2019, with former Chairwoman Charlotte Nash stressing the need for a more comprehensive look at the effffffffffffects of annexation.
In the hopes of avoiding objections this time around, council members Andrew Hixson and Bruce Gaynor met with county officials and council ors from neighboring Peachtree Corners to address their concerns. Hixson said the fresh faces on the county’s Board of Commissioners seemed willing to help Norcross work toward the annexation.
The new annexation plan discussed Wednesday would add far fewer residents to the city, Newton said, adding it’s diffifficult to estimate the population a ff ff ff ff ff ffec ted because most live in apartments or extended- stay motels. He estimates the smaller annexation plan would add fewer than 500 residents to the cit y, while Gaynor estimates it would add anywhere from 900 to 1,500 residents.
Council member Arlene Beckles said she lacked details about the annexation plan and that residents had not been polled about their desire to be brought into the city. She questioned why the council chose to approach the annexation “so late in the game,” trying to send a resolution to the state Legislature with little time left in this year’s session.
Hixson said it had taken longer than expected to coordinate the proposal with Gwinnett and Peachtree Corners offifficials.
Sophie Gibson, a Norcross resident, said she supports the original annexation plan proposed two years ago. She said the smaller annexation plan largely excludes residential properties and could send a message that the city only wants to capture new businesses and not residents, a sentiment with which Newton agrees.
Norcross offifficials unanimously agree the city needs to expand its limits, but the council members are still at a crossroads for how much it wants to expand at once, warranting further deliberation, Newton said.
“It appears that the wisdom of going one step at a time is greater than going for the full elephant,” Gaynor said. “The old saying, ‘ You eat an elephant one bite at a time, not all at once’ — this gives us the opportunity to eat the elephant one bite at a time.”
Newton and other city offifficials believe an annexation would allow Norcross to t ackle high crime rates in the area by Jimmy Carter Boulevard by dispatching its own police offifficers. It would also open new economic development opportunities to Norcross, given the city is landlocked and running out of room to expand.
If the state Legislature passes an annexation bill in the future, residents who would be brought into the cit y limits would have the final say by voting in a referendum.