Following a withdrawn arbitration process, Dawson County officials are “confident” the City of Dawsonville will honor their request for a denial of an annexation near Perimeter Road and Allen Street.
In a press release Thursday morning, County Public Affairs Officer Laura Fulcher said the county withdrew from the arbitration process to ensure that the annexation with revisions did not go through and that they were “confident that the City Council will do the right thing and make a responsible decision for the community by denying the Annexation.”
The situation began on December 9, 2020, when the city advised the count of its intent to annex and rezone 70.808 acres of the tax parcel (Tax Parcel 093 004 001) and following an analysis, the Dawson County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to formally object to the annexation on December 12, 2020.
“The County objected to the Annexation because, among other things, the Annexation and its intended rezoning would place a substantial financial burden on the County and all taxpayers. The project would result in increased infrastructure demands without the benefit of any developmental impact fees to offset the costs of those demands, including adding additional traffic at the already congested intersection of Perimeter Road and Allen Street,” Fulcher said in the press release.
Following state rules and regulations, the Georgia Department of Community Affairs appointed a panel of arbitrators on January 21, 2021, to conduct an arbitration on the county’s objection. The panel is not legal authorized to stop the annexation, Fulcher said in the release, just offer conditions to mitigate the effects of the infrastructure burdens and impact the density of the development.
The arbitration process would result in the annexation being approved, but with potential conditions, so commissioners again voted unanimously to withdraw from proceedings. Now, the process is remanded back to the city council to vote on the annexation – “which should be a vote to outright deny and reject the Annexation and rezoning,” the statement read.
Legal counsel for the city said in an email statement that a letter was sent to the city on Wednesday "wherein the County communicated its decision regarding the annexation," however, the city hasn't had the opportunity to consider the letter, nor has it had its required public hearing on the matter before the council.
