Gov. Deal vetoes Fulton Industrial vote, annexation into South Fulton

Vehicles travel through the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Fulton Industrial Boulevard. Gov. Nathan Deal has vetoed a measure that could have put the area into the new city of South Fulton. Johnny Crawford / AJC FILE PHOTO

Vehicles travel through the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive and Fulton Industrial Boulevard. Gov. Nathan Deal has vetoed a measure that could have put the area into the new city of South Fulton. Johnny Crawford / AJC FILE PHOTO

Gov. Nathan Deal has vetoed two bills that would have let Fulton County residents decide whether the last unincorporated part of the county would be part of the new city of South Fulton.

In a statement, Deal said there has been “continued debate” between Atlanta and South Fulton about who should get the district, which has 46 million square feet of industrial space and a workforce of more than 20,000 people. It brings in between $5 million and $6 million a year in tax revenue.

Deal said the cities and property owners “need to first come to an agreement to determine the future of the” district.

The legislature had passed two bills — one calling for a vote on whether to nullify a constitutional amendment that says the district can’t be annexed and a second that would have annexed it into South Fulton if the first vote passed.

Atlanta last year sent a letter to property owners in the district, inviting them to annex into the city. It has also fought to be able annex other areas, including in a case that was heard this spring before the state supreme court. A case related to Fulton Industrial also went before the court last year.

In other Legislative news:

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