Rest Haven On Its Way Off the Map

BUFORD, GA -- As communities across metro Atlanta work to become cities, one Gwinnett County city is working to lose that distinction.

A bill introduced in the Georgia legislature this week would roll the city of Rest Haven into Buford. And that's just fine with the city's leaders.

“I think we’ll all be happier as a part of Buford,” Rest Haven Mayor Kenneth Waycaster told the Gwinnett Daily Post. “We’ve always worked with them pretty well.”

The Daily Post reports that state Sen. Renee Unterman, R-Buford, introduced Senate Bill 427 on Monday. While it does not mention Rest Haven by name, it describes property in Gwinnett County that would be added to Buford's city limits.

Rest Haven officials have tried for years to shed their cityhood, only to get caught up in political machinations that have stalled the process. The city's government is largely inactive and it already relies on Buford for some government services.

In the 2000 U.S. Census, Rest Haven had about 151 residents, a number that has likely dropped.

All of Rest Haven's land east of Buford Highway was added to Buford last year, Unterman noted to the Daily Post. This year's measure would finish the job.

But it's possible Rest Haven will have to wait again.

Thursday marked the 34th day of the General Assembly's 40-day annual session. That's not much time for a piece of local legislation to clear both the House and Senate.

To read the Daily Post's original article, click here.

(Photo via Wikimedia Commons)