What Happened to Gwinnett County? (Atlanta, Duluth: public school, property taxes, to live in)

[ericsonga]

I actually agree with you Blondie...on some parts.

There was a ton of unchecked growth that occured for decades. There has been far too many underhanded deals in terms of development here, something I'm afraid continues. But instead of shrugging my shoulders and moving on, I think we should strive to create something better. There is so much going for Gwinnett, why give up? I think that's created a lot of this mess so far...

[aries4118]

Originally Posted by ericsonga

But instead of shrugging my shoulders and moving on, I think we should strive to create something better. There is so much going for Gwinnett, why give up? I think that's created a lot of this mess so far...

Exactly. We should retrofit, revitalize, and restructure.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by LovinDecatur

Not a clue, SM. Wikipedia does refer to its' incorporated status ending in the 60's, but offers no reasons why; nor does the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
So, I'll offer my own hypothesis: Its' breakup would have occurred at a time when DeKalb County was consolidating its' own power and services, notably the school system (DeKalb did not have a unified school district until the 50's). It may have been determined that better efficiencies could be had by turning governmental authority over to the county.
Darn, I'm curious, too, and I just hung up from talking to my Dad, a 79 year resident of DeKalb. Might have to call him back...he's a walking dictionary of the county's history.

LD, please report back what you found from your dad. I found the same article on North Atlanta in wikipedia that Aries found, it is the only thing that even mentioned North Atlanta as an independent incorporated town disolving in the 60's.

Googling any variation of city or town of North Atlanta, Georgia just leads to a bunch of real estate and commercial listings for the generic north part of Atlanta or links to North Atlanta High School which is on the site of the original Northside HS in Atlanta city, not the former town of North Atlanta. North Atlanta is now a census designated place by the US Census. That is all the info I can find.

[johnatl]

^I live right in the area that used to be designated as North Atlanta. There is still a Postal sorting facility on Dresden that is called the North Atlanta processing center.

My next door neighbor is a native, and has lived here since the neighborhood was built in 1982. I'll ask her if she knows anything.

[rackensack]

Originally Posted by Saintmarks

Interesting to note that North Atlanta was an incorporated town as the info I gathered only listed incorporated cities. I remember seeing it on older maps, I believe it was in the area most now consider as Brookhaven. Anyone have any info on why this incorporated town ceased to be?

From: THE DEKALB HISTORY CENTER - About DHC

History of The DeKalb Chamber in the 50s and 60s

(In October, Wilma Hipps spoke of one of the major initiatives endorsed by the Chamber, the liquor by the drink referendum. Prior to this few hotels or prestigious restaurants would locate in DeKalb. Having liquor by the drink changed the business climate in DeKalb County.) Jim Miller,past president of DHS and DeKalb Chamber, adds to that story. “Oscar Coleman led the liquor drive by putting up moist, (spelling intentional) of the money. He owned the Executive Park Motel, later BellSouth Center at North Druid Hills and 85. There was a watering hole on the top floor where the movers and some shakers of DeKalb were members so they could have a drink. Another great story about Oscar was the time he tried to get a piece of land in Brookhaven rezoned and was turned down. He formed another of his "committees", hired a secretary, circulated a petition, caused an election, and the City of Brookhaven, or I think North Atlanta, was voted out of existence. He put up all the money; the committee had two members.

DeKalb County rezoned theproperty when the dust had settled.” This Oscar story is reminiscent of the Scott Candler and General Motors Story. It was the way things were done.

Sounds like at least part of the story.

[grindin]

Doesn't Maryland have a TON of unincorporated areas like Georgia does. My aunt in MD technically lives in Temple Hills/Marlow Hts, but has an Oxon Hill address, so it's considered Oxon Hill. I guess county governments are strong enough in these states to a point where a city government would be considered superfluous and unnecessary. Many parts of Greater Houston are unincorporated, but that seems to be because of the Extraterritorial Jurisdiction laws they have in Texas. However, the DFW area has way more incorporated cities.


But the laws have recently changed to where it is easier to incorporate in Georgia than it used to be, right? Which explains Sandy Springs, all of N. Fulton being incorporated as well as Dunwoody.

Do you think that parts of Gwinnett will start incorporating in the future? Do you think Peachtree Corners or the area around Gwinnett Place will become cities? Is incorporation easier than annexation in Georgia? Look at a map of cities in North Carolina versus cities here in Georgia. It seems that Charlotte has aggressively annexed over the past few decades in contrast to Atlanta.

[rackensack]

History of Hampton Hall

The first several paragraphs deal with North Atlanta and tell a different story than the link above.

[Saintmarks]

Originally Posted by rackensack

History of Hampton Hall

The first several paragraphs deal with North Atlanta and tell a different story than the link above.

Thank you Rackensack, excellent references.

Wonder if the city might ever want to revive itself? Brookhaven would be the much better name at this point. Sandy Springs would be better know as "North Atlanta" since it lies directly to the north of the Atlanta city limits.

(Side note... ever notice how the name "Atlanta" is not used over and over again, like say Miami? Miami Beach, Miami Shores, North Miami, North Miami Beach, Miami Springs, Miami Lakes, etc, etc.)

Its odd history of incorporation is obviously why it was dissolved with little fanfare. It's not like a more historic city like Decatur or Roswell was suddenly abandoned.

The only other thing like this I know of in the area is the city of Lithia Springs in Douglas County reviving its old incorporation in the 80s and then dissolving again sometime in the 90s.

[Saintmarks]

Just thought of two more defunct metro towns: Chattahoochee Plantation (which never really was a true city in the regular sense of the word) and Mountain View in Clayton which succumbed to the growth of Hartsfield. (Can I leave it at that or do I have to add the Jackson...)

[south-to-west]

The problems that plague Gwinnett include:

• Poor land use planning: This has contributed to an over-abundance of auto-oriented development, thus further aggrevating traffic problems. It also fails to create a sense of place. Also the quality of commercial development has been lacking as many retail centers become outdated in 10 years and much commercial space isn't used at its highest and best potential.
  
  
• Hesitance towards public transport: Although the Couty has instituted a limited bus system, it is way too large of a community for what it currently has. It's also a county that is very significant to the region, which further underlines the need for them to be in MARTA or a newly created regional transit authority.
  
  
• Lack of civic cohesion: This has been a huge problem for the County in regards to being fiscally sustainable. People turned out in droves to oppose an increase in property taxes to cover budget shortfalls, despite having the lowest property taxes in the metro area. The fact that Gwinnett is so large geographically, many residents view the County government as something being far away and out of reach. Also some areas of the county, especially South Gwinnett, feel like they're being neglected.

It is important to note that Gwinnett is a county with a population of nearly 800,000 residents, so it should be unsurprising that the problems that it faces today are drastically different than those they faced 20 years ago. For all of its warts, there are some things that it has gotten right, such as their invenstment in their roads, their public school system, and developing and attracting new amenities such as the Arena and the Gwinnett Braves. It's also one of the most diverse and international counties in Georgia. Nonetheless, it will be interesting to see how they deal with issues regarding a growing and increasingly diverse population down the road.