Buckhead Cityhood Leader Says Atlanta 'Shares Equal Interest' In De-Annexation Moves

ATLANTA — Buckhead cityhood proponents delivered a message to City of Atlanta officials Wednesday asking for a list of City properties that potentially could change hands inside a new municipality.

In a letter addressed to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Buckhead City Committee requested help identifying city properties and leased space currently within the proposed Buckhead City boundaries.

“The Buckhead City Committee and the City of Atlanta share an equal interest in identifying properties that may be affected by the creation of a new Buckhead City,” Buckhead City Committee CEO Bill White wrote in the letter.

The BCC delivered the letter to Atlanta City Hall on Wednesday afternoon asking for the city’s cooperation in listing current and former Atlanta Public Schools buildings, water and sewage facilities, Invest Atlanta properties, parks and green spaces, and other Atlanta assets. White also asked that the city earmark property transferred from the city and that any pending such transactions be put on hold.

“Our research, for example, indicates the City of Atlanta has transferred ownership of several properties to the Atlanta School Board,” he wrote. “We would appreciate your collaboration in halting any future transfers to outside entities of City-owned property within the Buckhead boundaries until the future of Buckhead is resolved.”

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The coalition of Buckhead residents and business owners that has grown since 2020 to include hundreds of families and businesses, White said, is continuing its crusade to cleave the affluent community from Atlanta and begin a new city.

Citing a spike in crime over recent years, punctuated by violent shootings and robberies in Buckhead, and a concern that taxes pulled from the area don’t return sufficient reinvestment, the BCC has gathered the necessary legislative support and evidence of feasibility to seek a place on the November 2022 ballot for a referendum.

Opponents argue that in addition to diminishing the region’s standing as the Southeast’s business and cultural center, splitting up Atlanta would diminish both cities’ bonding power, disrupt schools and pit the two municipalities against one another.

This letter follows committee meetings organized earlier this month during a special session of the Georgia General Assembly.