Villa Rica residents stand firm against Mirror Lake Connector Project
Villa Rica residents fight to keep homes
A group of residents in Villa Rica could be forced to move as a proposed road project that would go right through their properties is allowed to proceed. It's a fight that has been going on for years.
VILLA RICA, Ga. - The City of Villa Rica wants to extend the Mirror Lake Connector through a spot where homes currently sit. It's a fight that's been going on for years.
The backstory:
The goal is to connect the Douglas County side of Villa Rica to the downtown area.
Residents say the city hasn't been transparent about this project.
Back in December at a community meeting, Intermin City Manager Diana Desanto said the project was needed due to growth in the area. In that meeting, she also said she hoped to come to a compromise with residents.
She told FOX 5 Atlanta just days later that she wished the city had been more open about their plans from the start.
PREVIOUS REPORTS:
- Villa Rica halts controversial road project amid eminent domain dispute
- Villa Rica residents rally against new road project threatening neighborhood
What they're saying:
"They have no answers from our community. All they want to do is find ways to take," Aleta Farmer, whose father's home is threatened, said.
Several people came out on Saturday with signs expressing their desire to stay in their homes.
Villa Rica residents seen protesting Mirror Lake Connector Project on March 29, 2025.
"They're not gonna take it. They're gonna have to pay for it. But we don't want to move – my sister and them don't want to move, and they will not," Linda McLester said.
"This is my home. This is my home. And we're gonna fight," she added.
"They've been talking for more than a year saying they don't want this. Residents from Mirror Lake have even come over and said we didn't ask for this. But yet they have willfully continued to push this forward," Amy McCoy, who organized Saturday's protest, explained.
The Source: FOX 5 Atlanta reporters have been keeping up with the Mirror Lake Connector road project for months. Kim Leoffler spoke to residents at a protest for this article on March 29, 2025.