Lawmakers propose new city in northern Gwinnett County with no city property taxes

State lawmakers introduced legislation on Monday to create a new city in northern Gwinnett County to combat concerns about overdevelopment and congestion from development proposals.

House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration (R-Auburn) is helping to lead the charge toward the creation of a new city called Mulberry that would border Braselton and parts of Auburn and Dacula.

A major selling point for Efstration is that the city would exist without adding new taxes.

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“There would be no city property taxes as part of this proposal,” Efstration told Channel 2 Gwinnett County Bureau Chief Matt Johnson.

A Gwinnett County plan to originally build 700 apartments near Seckinger High School led to petitions last year and accelerated talks among lawmakers and residents about creating a new city.

That proposal is being scaled back due to community opposition, but lawmakers say that proposal is not tied to the city proposal.

“I think the success of this city is more broader than any one specific project,” Efstration said.

Sen. Clint Dixon is working on the legislation as well.

He says he has experience working in the Planning Commission for Gwinnett County before becoming a state lawmaker.

He says having city council members deciding zoning issues over county commissioners would expedite the process.

“They’d be much more local,” he said. “There’d be fewer cases they’d have to deal with.”

A feasibility plan attached to the bill suggests the city could survive without adding new city property taxes.

Efstration’s office worked with KB Advisory Group to develop a feasibility study. In it, it lays out how the city would use vehicle registration fees, stormwater fees and utilize insurance premiums to avoid adding new taxes.

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The study estimates the city of Mulberry could generate $9.4 million in revenue annually.

In contrast, the study estimates the city would have yearly expenses totaling nearly $8 million.

“Folks are already these taxes are fees,” Efstration said. “They would be received now on a much more local basis than at the county level.”

Mulberry would instantly be the second biggest city in Gwinnett and the most affluent based on median income.

If the bill is passed by lawmakers and if the city is approved by voters, Mulberry could be up and running by January of next year.

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