East Cobb Cityhood Bill Passes Georgia House Of Representatives

EAST COBB, GA — A proposed city of East Cobb is one step closer to becoming reality after the Georgia House of Representatives passed the cityhood bill Thursday afternoon.

House Bill 841, East Cobb's cityhood bill sponsored by state Rep. Matt Dollar, now awaits approval from the full state Senate and signature from Gov. Brian Kemp. If approved, the proposed city would go before voters for a May 24 referendum.

Prior to the vote — which passed 98-63 following an hour of debate — Dollar said the proposed city would create "a level of government that is closer to the people," the Marietta Daily Journal reported. Dollar, as well as East Cobb Reps. John Carson and Sharon Cooper, voted in favor of the bill's passage.

However, not all Cobb County Republicans voted for the bill to be passed. State Rep. Don Parsons, R-Marietta, said he wasn't consulted about the legislation and had not heard anything from residents supporting cityhood, East Cobb News reported.

Related: East Cobb Cityhood Referendum Could Move Up To May

Parsons also said the city's proposed boundaries, which stretch along the Johnson Ferry Road corridor, are adequate for creating a community meriting a "city" title.

“This is something that has been proposed by a group of people who want a city and want to be on the city council, and maybe want to be mayor or something for themselves,” Parsons said, according to the MDJ. “This is not a group of people who’ve come together and built a city or town. If that were the case, it would be there. There is no town of east Cobb. There is no city of east Cobb waiting to be incorporated.”

State Rep. Teri Anulewicz, D-Smyrna, also noted the "rushed" timeframe of the referendum — moved up from November to May — and last-minute changes to the structure of the proposed city government as points of concern.

In the new bill, a mayor would be elected citywide rather than chosen by city council members, and all six city council members would be elected citywide as well, rather than three district-specific council positions. Two city council members would still have to reside from one of the three districts in the city.

But House Speaker Pro Tem Rep. Jan Jones, R-Milton, said residents of the Georgia municipalities created in the last 15 years — which includes Milton and Johns Creek in Jones' district — are generally satisfied.

"Keep an open mind and let the people vote," Jones said, according to ECN.

The proposed city of East Cobb would have a similar geographic size as the city of Marietta at roughly 25 square miles, bordered by the Chattahoochee River in the southeast, Shallowford Road in the north and Old Canton Road in the west. Most of its 50,406 residents (17.2 percent) would be age 65 and older, while Marietta's population age 65 and older is 12.9 percent.

East Cobb is just one of four cityhood movements up for consideration by the General Assembly. Hearings for bills creating cities of Lost Mountain and Vinings were set Thursday afternoon.

See also:

• East Cobb Cityhood Bill Passes State House Committee
• East Cobb Cityhood Deemed 'Financially Feasible': GSU Study
• East Cobb Cityhood Public Safety Proposals Explained: Report
• Vinings Cityhood Considered 'Fiscally Feasible': UGA Study