Fairburn wants to be a Fayette

County city, but at least one county commissioner is having none of it.

"I don't even care to

dignify that kind of request with my time and effort," Commissioner

Linda Wells said during last week's meeting.

Wells voted against a motion

to invite Fairburn City Council to a joint meeting to present its request

to annex 22 acres off Milam Road.

The other three commissioners

voted in favor of asking Fairburn officials to the commission's June 6

work session to discuss the matter.

"I have serious concerns

about whether we ought to vote for such a thing [as the annexation], but

I do think we should invite them down here and hear what they have to

say with an open mind," said commission Chairman Greg Dunn.

"It's a ploy," Wells

said, for Fairburn to avoid being sued by Fayette County if it moves forward

with its plans to provide sewer service to parts of Tyrone. If the annexation

were to go through, Fairburn would no longer need Fayette's permission

to provide the service across county lines, she said.

The city might also then be

entitled to a portion of Fayette County's sales tax revenue, and would

be able to accomplish future annexations without the county's permission.

Owners of the property, the

estate of Nannie C. Gladin, petitioned the city for annexation of their

entire tract, which includes 20.3 acres in Fulton County along with the

22-acre Fayette portion, according to a letter to the commissioners from

Fairburn City Attorney Bradford Sears.

The property is next to the

Landmark Mobile Home Park.

County Attorney Bill McNally

said state law requires that, when such a request is presented, the county

has the option of setting a joint meeting within 15 days, or rejecting

the request without a hearing.

He said in deciding how to

act on the request, the county and city must consider four factors:

Whether the annexation is

reasonable for the long-range economic and overall well-being of the county,

school district and municipality;

Whether the health, safety

and welfare of the citizens of the county will be negatively affected;

Whether the annexation will

cause negative fiscal impact on the county, schools or the city if that

impact is not mitigated by some kind of agreement, and

The interests of the property

owner seeking the annexation.

Sears' letter says that Fairburn

intends to put the property into an AG-2 zoning district, an agricultural

designation, but Wells expressed concern the city might later rezone it

for high-density residential use.

Fairburn, whose 2000 Census

population is 5,464, has no fire service, so Fayette would have to provide

that service, she said.

An annexation request across

county lines is rare in Georgia. There are a few instances of city limits

extending across county lines, but most of those situations came about

when the counties were formed, rather than through annexation.

Palmetto, just to the southwest

of Fairburn, lies in both Fulton and Coweta counties. Part of Atlanta

lies within DeKalb County.

If Fayette rejects the request,

the only appeal for the property owner or the city would be through Superior

Court.

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