Decatur sued over Midway Road annexation
Decatur City Hall.
Decatur City Hall
This story has been updated.
The anti-annexation group No2Decatur has announced that the city of Decatur is the target of a lawsuit over its recent annexation of properties along Midway Road.
The lawsuit alleges that, “The City of Decatur did not follow all of the prescribed requirements of Article 2 of OCGA Chapter 36, Title 36 in regards to the annexation. This law is called the 100 percent annexation and requires the signature of all homeowners.”
The plaintiffs are Eunice Elise Young and Kevin Polite of No2Decatur.
Young lives at one of five properties along Midway Road that the city annexed in 2013. According to the complaint, one of her neighbors’ signatures on the petition isn’t valid because it contains the signature of the property owner’s wife, who is not the property owner of record. Therefore the annexation of Young’s property wasn’t valid, the lawsuit contends.
“Because of the illegal annexation, Plaintiff Young has sustained substantial, immediate and irreparable harm as a result of the City’s actions,” the lawsuit says. “Plaintiff Young continues to pay taxes to the City since 2013 solely based on the wrongful annexation.”
The lawsuit seeks an injunction to set aside the annexation of the five properties and an injunction preventing the city from annexing any contiguous properties. It also asks the city to refund the taxes Young paid and to pay for her attorney’s fees.
When asked for a response, Decatur City Manager Peggy Merriss said, “We were served with the legal complaint yesterday. It has been forwarded to the City Attorney and he will file the appropriate response with the Court.”