Annexation/ Beltline/ Business

Emory pursuing annexation into the city of Atlanta

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Main Quad on Emory University’s primary Druid Hills Campus, including the Michael C. Carlos Museum on the right. Photo obtained via Wikimedia Commons
Main Quad on Emory University’s primary Druid Hills Campus, including the Michael C. Carlos Museum on the right. Photo obtained via Wikimedia Commons

This story has been updated. 

Atlanta Loop has confirmed that Emory University is officially pursuing annexation into the city of Atlanta.

“We’re looking at annexation,” a spokesperson for the University said. The spokesperson also confirmed that the university is pursuing annexation via the petition method, which means it will not require an act of the Legislature or approval by voters in a referendum.

In an official statement released on Aug. 19, the university said, “Emory University, like neighboring communities, has been considering and evaluating annexation options for several years. Currently, Emory is beginning the process to annex its campus into the City of Atlanta.”

The university said its annexation plans won’t affect schools in the DeKalb County School district, something that was a possibility with prior plans pursued by residents of the neighborhoods around Emory. The previous Atlanta annexation proposal, proposed by Together in Atlanta, suggested annexing Briar Vista and Fernbank Elementary Schools, as well as Druid Hills High, into the city.

“Annexation of Emory into the City of Atlanta will not affect school districts, since neighboring communities like Druid Hills will still be self-determining regarding annexation,” the university said.

Emory says it plans to join Atlanta fit with how the university has always marketed itself.

“Emory’s annexation into the city of Atlanta has always been viewed as one of the most viable, long-term options and one that provides consistency and alignment relative to the University’s marketing and branding initiatives,” the university said. “Emory already promotes its location as Atlanta, is known internationally as being located in Atlanta, routinely recruits faculty and students to Atlanta, and has an Atlanta address and zip code.”

The statement adds, “The prestige of Emory as an international university and Atlanta as a global city are inextricably linked.”

A spokesperson for Mayor Kasim Reed said the door is open for any community that wants to join Atlanta. The spokesperson’s statement, which was emailed to Atlanta Loop, suggests the annexation effort will be larger than the university itself, and might include the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“Mayor Reed welcomes all communities who choose annexation into the City of Atlanta,” the spokesperson said. “If successful, the annexation of this vital corridor would present the rare opportunity to bring a world-class teaching and research institution, strong neighborhoods, hundreds of thriving commercial and industrial businesses and the leading national public health institute of the United States into the city of Atlanta.”

When Atlanta Loop asked for a clarification about the scope of the potential annexation being considered, the spokesperson said, “We’re not going to say anything beyond what’s in the statement.”

DeKalb County Commissioner Jeff Rader distributed a letter regarding a meeting about the topic set for Monday, Aug. 22. Rader’s letter references another possible motive for Emory’s annexation push.

His letter says, in part, “There are indications (such as Atlanta’s inclusion of an Atlanta portion of Clifton Corridor Light Rail in the MARTA half penny referendum this November) that Emory might see annexation as advantageous.”

Here is the full letter:

Commissioner Rader would like to convene the leadership of unincorporated neighborhoods surrounding Emory University. While there is no privileged information to share, his interest is in education and feedback on the potential for Emory University to petition for the unilateral annexation of their DeKalb County properties into the City of Atlanta. They are entitled to do so under the “60% or 100% method” (with petitions bearing the signature of annexing properties) under existing state law, and there are indications (such as Atlanta’s inclusion of an Atlanta portion of Clifton Corridor Light Rail in the MARTA half penny referendum this November) that Emory might see annexation as advantageous.

Properties and neighborhoods adjacent to Emory would be eligible to join such a petition, but Emory could also move unilaterally, and neighborhoods need to contemplate that contingency.

The following neighborhoods are within this sphere of influence:

Victoria Estates Civic Association
Clairmont Heights
Druid Hills Civic Assn.
Emory Parc Manor
LaVista Hills
Mason Mill Civic Assn.
Merry Hills
North Druid Hills Residents Assn.
Woodland Hills

As a leader of your neighborhood civic association, please join Commissioner Rader for a meeting on Monday, August 22 (this coming Monday!) at 6:30pm at Central DeKalb Senior Center, 1346 McConnell Drive, Decatur, GA 30033.

Please plan to attend this meeting, and if you are unable to be present, please ask someone on your association board to attend in your place.

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  • John

    Since Emory doesn’t share a border with Atlanta, some neighborhoods must be going with them.

    • DHH

      They may well have a boarder now. I’m looking at recent sales along the west side of Briarcliff Rd from this summer. Emory purchased the land just southeast of Sage Hill Shopping Center last year, and they only needed 50 feet on the other side of Briarcliff Rd to get the Atlanta connection that would have allowed annexation via the 100% method.. I doubt Emory would have announced this plan without having established a border first.

  • RAJ

    Small land bridge I think

    • jo

      More like a MARTA bridge. Atl will pass the tax hike for more rail and it’s 50/50 if even gets on the ballot in DeKalb next year. Emory wants the status symbol of having a MARTA rail station or two for the campus. CofA residents will unknowingly funnel hundreds of millions for eminent domain seizures through the neighborhoods around the campus. Getting annexed is a vanity issue for the campus and should NOT succeed.

      • RAJ

        Sorry Jo, but this is a very important economic issue for Fulton and DeKalb as Emory has a $500M Grant infrastructure that MUST be maintained. My understanding(correct me)is that most of the rail will go underground at a cost of Billions or follow existing rail.

        • jo

          Undeground rail to Emory is only a pipe dream. Any existing grant is not dependant on annexation. Emory a top flight education wants to align itself with Atlanta’s failing schools; really? Emory suffers nothing being unincorporated DeKalb with an Atlanta mailing address without endangering the neighborhoods around it. We’d be better off with Atlanta out of DeKalb!!!

  • jo

    Higher taxes, higher crime, less public safety, a government with real corruption …what a deal. A halt on annexations until the legislature provides an easy path for citizens to fire their city government with easy and quick de-annexations. NO THANKS!!!!!!! Do the citizens realize there is only 1 or 2 Atlanta police on patrol in Atlanta-DeKalb patrol zones during the day?

    • notapunk

      That’s a recipe for a cluster*, Jo.

      Emory’s not looking to take a bunch of neighborhoods with it. It’s up to the homeowners to decide if they want to tag along. But it sure looks like Emory has decided its own path. More power to ’em.

      • RAJ

        It seems that Emory owned(serviced & policed by Emory) property ONLY is in the annexation map. Don’t think neighborhoods can do much about this one, some issues were the same as with LaVista Hills map. Neighborhood parcels and/or neighborhoods cannot annex in to Atlanta without Atlanta approval, selling property to Emory or referendum. The issue of “islands” of service area for Atlanta is in play. Schools are OK even if Druid Hills residential decides to go for a referendum since a deal has apparently been cut with the DeKalb School Board thru intergovernmental agreements to keep the schools in DeKalb System. Feeder patterns would not change pending other considerations?? We should know more Monday night, how much more is the question; should be a political dance to behold! Someone please publish that annexation map before the meeting!

      • Temotu

        At least reads like Emory is presuming to decide CDC’s path too.

    • Derek Gator

      I think you are misinformed, Atlanta has 3 timed as many cops per capita as DeKalb and half as much corruption as DeKalb. The taxes are just about even.

      • jo

        The APD I know call it the Atlanta Police Temp Agency because of the attrition. The mayor likes to say he has over 2000 allocated positions but thats an budget term and not real officers on the street. The attrition problem is dire at APD. The last reported number was reported in the AJC in Aug 2015 when it said 100 had resigned for that year which was on pace to exceed year 2014 and year 2013. City Councilwoman “Moore said the real number is 641 patrol officers to cover the entire city—that includes six police zones, three shifts per zone and 78 police beats throughout the city.That is how many respond to 911 calls,” -Buckheadview.com May 2016 . WSB TV just reported that DeKalb PD has purchased 600 body cameras for it’s uniformed officers. It looks like the Atlanta PD is bigger but not twice as big. If it were me I’d be pushing to have these larger police forces merge into a metro police.

        • RAJ

          Just left tonight’s meeting and the fuse is lit, if only at a slow burn for now! Lots of questions answered, more questions raised, but very little mentioned about police coverage if off campus neighborhoods want to annex in, as some have already started petitions. What happens to 911 response times when thin Atlanta police coverage has to cross Campus police jurisdiction to answer a 911 call in an annexed residential area.

  • Ken Shigley

    Looking at the map, I assume that Atlanta would annex the Clifton Road corridor. There is only a short stretch of railroad right of way separating the Atlanta city limits from the intersection of Briarcliff and North Clifton. Most of the land is occupied by Emory, the CDC and a handful of private developments.

    • RAJ

      The annexation map is available from the City of Atlanta on an open records request to the city.

  • Ken Shigley

    Thanks. I’m not going to that trouble since I don’t live in the neighborhood. Was my guess close to right?

    • RAJ

      Hope they have the annexation map at the meeting Monday night. My sources say, and I may have posted this elsewhere, that Emory’s primary motivation is to speed the construction of Clifton corridor rail with MARTA and Fulton money, as many Emory employees live and/or work in Atlanta.

  • Josh K

    Wouldn’t this create an island out of Druid Hills? I haven’t seen the map, but is seems like Lullwater Park would be the only connection between Druid Hills and the rest of unincorporated DeKalb.

    • RAJ

      My under the radar(Rader?)sources tell me that a unofficial/bandit, cribbed map of some sort will be available as a handout at tonight’s meeting…..God only knows what kind of *hit fit this will cause. City of Atlanta pulled 1000GB of data points from DeKalb records but wisely did not create a map in partnership(?) with Emory in the interest of Government transparency!