Sandy Springs, Georgia
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Sandy Springs (once known as Hammond) is a city (incorporation scheduled for 2006) located in Fulton County, Georgia, north of Atlanta and south of Roswell. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 85,781. The northern part of the area is also called North Springs. [1] (http://www.northsandysprings.com)
Sandy Springs is named for the sandy springs which still exist in the city. It is served by the Sandy Springs and North Springs MARTA stations, the two northernmost on the north line. Its largest business district is the Perimeter Mall area, which includes many mid-rise buildings, and is near the highway interchange of Georgia 400 and the Perimeter. Roswell Road (Georgia 9) is a main north-south road, and Johnson Ferry Road is a major surface street to and from Cobb County.
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Incorporation
Despite being the seventh-largest city in Georgia (and nearly tied with Roswell for second in metro Atlanta), it lobbied the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) for official incorporation as one since the 1970s. Feeling that the county was distributing services to the poorer areas, as well as ignoring local opposition to rezoning and excessive development, residents formed the Committee For Sandy Springs.
Because the legislature required that all local legislation be approved first by the delegation of representatives from the affected area, incorporation was blocked, with Atlanta and the remainder of southern Fulton fearing that badly-needed tax revenue would be taken away. When the Republican Party took over a majority in both houses in early 2005, the Democratic Party rules were thrown out, and a bill to allow the majority-Republican city to incorporate over the objections of majority-Democratic Atlanta was passed by the legislature and signed by the governor.
This was strongly opposed by residents of unincorporated and less-developed south (actually southwest) Fulton County, as the two tax districts created take away about $20 million per year from that area. County residents outside of Sandy Springs were not allowed to vote on the matter, and some resorted to other measures, such as requesting the U.S. Justice Department to reject the plan. These efforts were unsuccessful, and a large property tax increase or serious cuts in services such as firefighting may occur for that part of the county.
The referendum on incorporation was held on June 21, and residents voted overwhelmingly for incorporation. A mayor and six city council members will be elected in November, and formal incorporation will occur in January. In five years (2010), the charter drawn up by the legislature would have to be reviewed for any proposed or necessary changes. Another act temporarily repeals the 1995 law that all Georgia cities must provide at least three municipal services on their own or have their cityhood revoked, as the new city would need time to start up, and would be contracting most of its services from the county through the end of 2006. The law also suspends the requirement that new cities cannot be created within three miles (4.8km) of existing cities, as the new city limit would border both Roswell and Atlanta.
The legislation passed creates two separate tax districts for the county. This will block any tax money from one district from being spent in the other, effectivly cutting off lower-income south Fulton from its upper-income north.
There is also the potential that Sandy Springs could later join a re-created Milton County, although it was not part of the original county. The proposal to bring back that county is being studied by a committee.
The city has a website at http://www.cityofsandysprings.org, and a community site at http://www.sandysprings.org.
Timeline
- In 1950, the state's legislature blocked Atlanta from annexing the area.
- In 1952, the Buckhead area north of Atlanta and south of Sandy Springs in annexed.
- In 1959, mayor of Atlanta William Hartsfield urged residents to support annexation after a fire at Hammond High School, so that it would have better firefighting protection.
- In 1966, annexation was defeated by two-thirds in a referendum.
- In 1975 and 1976, the Committee For Sandy Springs was created and efforts in the legislature began.
- In 1989, a new push was made, this time to join neighboring Chattahoochee Plantation in Cobb County. It was blocked by Tom Murphy, who was the powerful speaker of the house at the time.
- In 2005, Sandy Springs residents vote for incorporation. Incorporation is favored by over 90% of the votes cast.
Geography
GAMap-doton-SandySprings.PNG
Location of Sandy Springs, Georgia
Sandy Springs is located at 33°56'15" North, 84°22'7" West (33.937401, -84.368625)Template:GR.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 101.0 km² (39.0 mi²). 97.7 km² (37.7 mi²) of it is land and 3.2 km² (1.2 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 3.21% water.
The boundaries of Sandy Springs are: Atlanta to the south, Cobb County (at the Chattahoochee River) to the west, Roswell (also at the river) to the north, and Dunwoody (at the DeKalb County line) to the east. A small panhandle in the northeast extends along the south side of the river, being north of DeKalb and Dunwoody, and ending in a very small border with Gwinnett County.
Demographics
As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there are 85,781 people, 39,288 households, and 19,683 families residing in the CDP. The population density is 878.1/km² (2,274.1/mi²). There are 42,794 housing units at an average density of 438.0/km² (1,134.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP is 77.55% White, 12.04% African American, 0.18% Native American, 3.29% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.94% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races. 9.93% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 39,288 households out of which 21.1% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% are married couples living together, 7.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 49.9% are non-families. 35.9% of all households are made up of individuals and 6.8% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.17 and the average family size is 2.87.
In the CDP the population is spread out with 17.8% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 40.3% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 33 years. For every 100 females there are 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 95.0 males.
The median income for a household in the CDP is $60,428, and the median income for a family is $85,146. Males have a median income of $51,002 versus $36,493 for females. The per capita income for the CDP is $45,494. 6.5% of the population and 3.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 6.6% of those under the age of 18 and 6.9% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
External links
- City of Sandy Springs (http://www.cityofsandysprings.org)
- Sandy Springs community site (http://www.sandysprings.org)
- Heritage Sandy Springs (http://www.heritagesandysprings.org)
- North Springs (http://www.northsandysprings.com)