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Petition to make Toco Hills and Merry Hills part of Brookhaven withdrawn over questions

By and FOX 5 Atlanta Digital Team
Updated  July 20, 2023 6:03pm EDT
Brookhaven
FOX 5 Atlanta

Claims petition to join Brookhaven forged

A proposal to annex portions of unincorporated DeKalb County into the city of Brookhaven is on hold, for now. The leader of the group pushing for a split, withdrew the annexation application after some residents claimed their signatures were forged.

BROOKHAVEN - The city of Brookhaven has announced that the petition to annex the Toco Hills and Merry Hills neighborhoods has been withdrawn, according to a press release.

While we have over 60% of the registered voters in the area, due to some questions raised about the application, I have decided to withdraw the current application. My neighbors and I remain very interested in becoming a part of Brookhaven and intend to pursue another annexation application soon unless DeKalb County gives us a chance to vote in a referendum," said Howard Ginsberg.

"We were happy Mr. Ginsburg decided to withdraw the petition," said DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond.

TOCO HILLS DEVELOPER OBJECTS TO BROOKHAVEN'S ANNEXATION PLAN 

In announcing the decision, Howard Ginsberg stated proponents have over 60 percent of registered voters in the area on board, and explained that he decided to withdraw the application due to questions raised about the validity of some of the signatures on the petition.

"My neighbors and I remain very interested in becoming a part of Brookhaven and intend to pursue another annexation application soon unless DeKalb County gives us a chance to vote in a referendum," said Ginsberg.

RESIDENTS HAVE CHOICE WORDS FOR CITY OF BROOKHAVEN'S EXPANSION PLAN 

Brookhaven annexation of Toco Hills on hold

Some residents of unincorporated DeKalb County will not be annexed into the city of Brookhaven, at least not yet.

The withdrawal happened after some residents and county officials expressed concerns about the validity of some signatures on the petition. The withdrawal of the application by the applicant does not preclude residents from making another annexation application in the same area.

"This development is not surprising given the issues that were alleged in the public input process," said City Manager Christian Sigman. "The silver lining is that the community’s voice does make a difference, and the difference is possibly a referendum in the area and a battle-tested annexation review process. Either way, we continue to welcome all adjacent residents who want to join the City of Brookhaven."

"We look forward to working with our municipal neighbors in Brookhaven, I've reached out to the Mayor yesterday.  We are going to sit down and have a conversation about moving forward to do what's in the best interest of all of DeKalb’s citizens," said Thurmond.

The action comes just weeks after a heated public meeting in which residents voiced their concerns over the proposed expansion plan.

Brookhaven Communications Director Burke Brennan said the annexation application had been in the works for over a year, and was in the administrative review phase, with the city looking into allegations some of the signatures on the applications were forged, when Ginsburg pulled the application.

"We don't have anything in front of us now.  We understand there were many residents in the area that would like to annex into the city but we don't have anything from them yet, so we don't have anything to evaluate," said Brennan

DeKalb County is carefully reviewing Brookhaven’s request that the county call for a referendum on the proposed annexation, but officials say no final decision will be made until Brookhaven completes its investigation of the allegations of forgery and fraud associated with Mr. Ginsburg’s Brookhaven annexation application.

For more information about the annexation process in Brookhaven, click here.