Duluth Annexes 13 Parcels Into City

The Duluth City Council annexed 13 properties within Blue Ridge Industrial Park  into the city limits at a called meeting on Oct. 24. Nine owners of parcels in the park applied for voluntary annexation. The other parcels came along under the 60%/40% annexation rule. The nine owners represented 72% percent.

The council’s unanimous action brings 63 acres and additional property tax revenue into the city. Under the 60%/40% annexation method, if 60 percent of property owners of land contiguous to Duluth request to become a part of the city, the other 40 percent are included in the annexation.

The remaining parts of Blue Ridge Industrial Park annexed by the city were located in unincorporated Gwinnett County. Part of the industrial park, located off North Berkeley Lake Road, already was in the Duluth city limits. The only access to the interior of the park is through Blue Ridge Industrial Parkway, and the entrance to the parkway lies in the Duluth city limits.

The depressed economy, the resulting decline in property tax revenue, and plans by neighboring entities to incorporate, expand and annex prompted the city to pursue annexation. The City of Berkeley Lake has a corner of the park. The new City of Peachtree Corners' borders included part of the park. 

Duluth officials had approached businesses in the park and provided them with information about the advantages of becoming a part of Duluth. The city’s efforts to annex the rest of Blue Ridge Industrial Park were motivated by Peachtree Corners plans to become a city, according to City Administrator Phil McLemore.

The proposed boundaries of Peachtree Corners included the remaining parcels of the industrial park in unincorporated Gwinnett up to the Duluth city limits. “A lot of the businesses were given the choice of being in the city of Duluth and receiving its services,” McLemore said. Some businesses did not respond, he said.

The Blue Ridge Industrial Park property owners that requested annexation and have now become a part of Duluth include Marmon/Keystone Corp., Blue Ridge North Owners Association, Sonoco Paperboard Group, Orton Holdings, Krysak Holdings, the Development Authority of Gwinnett County, Wilson Malaer Properties, and KC Coatings.

McLemore said city staff would be informing the businesses that did not seek voluntary annexation that they are now in the city limits.

The council also voted to keep the M-2 manufacturing rezoning of the annexed parcels. This is the same zoning the properties were categorized by the county.