Berkeley Lake Approves Annexation of Nearby Homes

On Tuesday night the City of Berkeley Lake Planning & Zoning Commission approved the annexation of 15 homes, two located on Bush Road and 13 on Habersham Lane.

These properties are adjacent to Berkeley Lake's current borders and had been located in unincorporated Gwinnett County. They were slated to be a part of the new City of Peachtree Corners, which voters had passed by a referendum vote on Nov. 8.

Commission Chair Rodney Hammond said there have been a number of voluntary requests for annexation from the homeowners.

"This group of homeowners approached us," explained Berkeley Lake Mayor Lois Salter. "We did not canvass these people. I told Mike Mason [who spearheaded the referendum for Peachtree Corners cityhood], that we would not go after homeowners, but we would focus on commercial properties.

"These people started looking at our lake, our security patrol and the cohesiveness of the community and decided to approach us about annexation. A few weeks ago one of the homeowners, Joel Reed, showed up with a signed petition."

The question now is when is the City of Peachtree Corners officially a city.

Is it when the voters chose cityhood for their community on Nov. 8, or when the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners certified the votes at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 15.

Or is it March 6, when a mayor and six council members are elected? Or maybe July 1, 2012, when the new City of Peachtree Corners officially begins operation as stipulated in the city charter.

Salter said she was advised by Berkeley Lake city attorney that Peachtree Corners "does not become a city until they constitute a government."

If the City of Peachtree Corners is really not a city yet, then are surrounding cities able to continue annexing properties?

No, according to Dist. 2 County Commissioner Lynette Howard.

"The borders were set last Tuesday, Nov. 8, when the referendum passed." Howard points out that it is her contention that it is the current borders that were presented to the voters that takes precedent.

It's an issue that has now been taken to Gwinnett County's attorney, M. Van Stephens for his review.

As of the deadline for this story, we have not heard back from the County's attorney but will follow up with an update on this story when it's available.