Stockbridge Remains Intact After Vote On Eagle's Landing Fails

The city of Stockbridge will remain intact following Tuesday night's vote against Eagle's Landing. Nearly 60 percent of voters in the proposed city voted against taking Stockbridge land to form Eagle’s Landing.

Only the residents living inside the new city boundaries got a chance to vote on the ballot measure. Stockbridge challenged the effort in Henry County Superior Court and the state’s supreme court, asking for an injunction against the vote but failed both times.

Randy Knighton, Stockbridge's city manager, said there is a sense of relief among city officials and how they will focus on bridging the gap with supporters of Eagle’s Landing.

"We have wanted to make sure that we, from a government operation standpoint, engage those citizens and seek their input in all government matters and will continue to do so,” Knighton said.

The new city would have taken about half of Stockbridge's land and led to a large loss of tax revenue. But Stockbridge would have remained on the hook for its debt and city officials worried that would affect their bond rating.

After the vote failed, Mayor Anthony Ford said in a statement they are grateful and excited and are looking forward to celebrating the city’s centennial in 2020.

Vikki Consiglio, with the Eagle’s Landing Educational Research Committee that was behind the effort, said this issue for them was simply about the right for people to have a say in creating a new city.

“We wanted the citizens to decide,” Consiglio said. “There are thousands of citizens that voted yes for a common goal that something needs to happen in the Eagle's Landing Community. We still believe that the Eagle’s Landing Community can be a beacon for the south side of metro Atlanta.”