Commissioners, legislators debate merits of cityhood pushes

Dec. 4—MARIETTA — The Cobb incorporation debate kicked up another notch Friday as the county's top elected officials wrangled over the merits of some 200,000 residents joining four new cities.

Cityhood was just one of a slate of issues up for discussion at the annual summit between the Board of Commissioners and the county's legislative delegation, but prompted some of the morning's most spirited discussion.

Officials had state Rep. Erick Allen, D-Smyrna, the delegation's chairman, to thank for that. Allen announced earlier this week he would not support any of the cityhood efforts in East Cobb, Lost Mountain, Mableton, or Vinings. Allen told the MDJ Wednesday he wouldn't back the movements until a study was done on their impact to county government, and reiterated that point Friday.

"I like the component of individual communities being able to determine their destiny, and that is a good thing," Allen said. "We have done feasibility studies on all four of the cities, and all four are feasible. But there has been no study on what the impact to the county would be. I personally am a resident of unincorporated Cobb ... and I want to know what that's going to be."

State Rep. Teri Anulewicz, D-Smyrna, the delegation's vice chair, told the MDJ she largely agreed with Allen.

"Cities are not the panacea, especially these 'cities-lite,'" she said.

Anulewicz, a former member of the Smyrna City Council, said if residents are interested in more representation, she offered expanding the county commission as an idea "that absolutely merits conversation."

"Whether it's perceived or actual — not having the representation these communities feel like they deserve and are entitled to — I think that there are ways to mitigate that beyond just creating cities," she added.

State Rep. David Wilkerson, D-Powder Springs, agreed with the need for a pause.

"It makes sense. You know, I think we're seeing that across the state is that we really need to look at how these new cities impact the county. I think it makes sense to kind of hold off, and I know the House is actually looking at legislation to determine how we move the cityhood bills forward whether that be Buckhead or whether that be the cities in Cobb, and so I think it would make sense to take a pause at this point," he said.

Several of the legislators leading the various pushes, including state Reps. John Carson, R-northeast Cobb; Erica Thomas, D-Mableton; Matt Dollar, R-east Cobb; and Ginny Ehrhart, R-west Cobb, didn't attend Friday's meeting.

But one who did, state Rep. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, a Lost Mountain co-sponsor, called not just Lost Mountain but all the cityhood proposals "a high-minded effort" and "a beautiful thing we should all support."

"What you're really seeing is not an interest in big government, but an interest in self-government," Setlzer said. "Folks of all political backgrounds are really excited to have a community where folks share their vision for maybe a lower density quality of life, (with) more treetops than rooftops."

Cobb Chairwoman Lisa Cupid offered Setzler a cordial response.

"I like hearing about the self-governance piece, because I didn't hear that initially. I heard affordable housing was kind of driving the matter, so I'm more than happy to be able to look at the cityhood issue from that perspective," Cupid said.

Ehrhart contacted the MDJ with a lengthy statement after the meeting lambasting Allen's "flip-flop" on the issue (he previously co-signed the Vinings cityhood bill, but said after seeing the feasibility study he doesn't support the city).

"Rep. Allen stated publicly earlier this year that residents of the proposed cities 'deserve to decide for themselves whether they should incorporate.' Those were his words in March of this year. I guess he thinks they no longer deserve it, and I have to ask, what has changed?" Ehrhart's statement reads in part. "I cannot speak to why Rep. Allen has changed his mind, although I'm not ruling out pressure from county commission members who might view the cityhood movement as a loss of power to the county. Which it is. That's not a bad thing. I'm concerned that this feigned 'impact on the county' argument, which has no factual support, could be an attempt to derail the efforts of concerned citizens who feel their unique needs and concerns (especially regarding local planning and zoning) are continually rebuffed by a board in which 4 of its 5 members don't live in the area."

Meanwhile state Rep. Devan Seabaugh, R-Marietta, told the MDJ he planned to sign on to the Lost Mountain cityhood bill.

"As far as the city of Lost Mountain, I think the feasibility study came back great," Seabaugh said. "I think we need to give residents out there an opportunity to vote on that, and I have not signed on to the bill yet, but I certainly will do that when I get back down to the Capitol in January."

Seabaugh acknowledged Allen's concern about the impact the new cities may have on the county.

"We're going to look at the impact it has on Cobb County. We're going to look at the impact it has on the citizen of West Cobb, and we're going to do what we think is best for the citizens of West Cobb, and I think the feasibility study came back very positive for having an incorporated city out there, and I look forward to putting it to the voters and seeing what they think."

Further stirring up questions of representation in county government will be the coming redrawing of Cobb's commission district and school board maps. Allen, however, assured his audience the changes — at least for the commission districts — would be minimal.

"When you see the map, it will pass the eyeball test. You will have to strain your eyes to see where there are any changes," he said.

Allen later told the MDJ that when it comes to the Board of Education districts, he's waiting for board-hired consultant Taylor English to complete its work on the new boundaries before offering his own take.