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City Government

Peachtree Corners Distinctiveness Predates Cityhood

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Peachtree Corners 10th Anniversary
Above from left, City Councilman Alex Wright, Pat Bruschini, Wayne Knox, Debbie Mason, Mayor Mike Mason, Matt Houser, Gay Shook, Mike Murphy, Tom Rice, Lynette Howard Photography by George Hunter

The wild, wooly wilderness of western Gwinnett holds a richness that has drawn many to settle on these banks of the Chattahoochee River to this day.

In its 10 years as a city, Peachtree Corners has built a reputation as an innovative center for technology and a community that strives to maintain family values and a quality way of life. To get a perspective on why this city is a jewel in the crown of Gwinnett County, it’s important to go back to the origins of how this area became settled.

Atlanta native Carole Townsend wrote a book, released last year, about the history of the area. Titled “Peachtree Corners, the History of an Innovative and Remarkable City 1777-2020,” she chronicles the city from the early days of the Creek Indians, who claimed the area as their home, through the creation of the technology hub that exists today.

In a podcast interview with Peachtree Corners Magazine shortly after the book was published, Townsend gave insight into why Peachtree Corners is such an innovative and remarkable place.

The boundary that defines the westernmost part of Gwinnett County, the Chattahoochee River, was perhaps the main reason the area was so coveted by many. For the indigenous peoples, it was a lifeblood, explained Townsend. And as Europeans moved into the area, they naturally built their settlements along it.

“The Europeans brought with them diseases that the Native Americans had no immunities to,” said Townsend. “A lot of them were wiped out.”

Eventually about 16 different native tribes formed a nation of Native Americans that was mainly made up of Creek with a little Cherokee mixed in.

“The Cherokee tribes were mainly north of the Chattahoochee,” said Townsend.

By the time the colonies had formed to become American, there were few Indigenous people left. That’s when many of the founding families moved to this area.

“When we look at Holcomb Bridge Road and we look at Nesbitt Ferry… these are not names just pulled out of a hat. We even have recent history that they go back a long way,” she continued.

In 1777, western Gwinnett County, in what is now Peachtree Corners, had its first White landowners. “I can tell you the absolute earliest family was the Medlocks. And I can say that with certainty because Isham Medlock was the first recorded Medlock in the area,” Townsend added.

Another prominent family that Townsend chose to highlight, the Nesbitts, wasn’t of European descent.

“Of course, there are many important families that settled the area, but the Nesbitt family — the Perry Nesbitt family — struck me as another group that really needed to be part of the story,” said Townsend. “The patriarch and the matriarch of that family were born into slavery. They were born before the Civil War ended, and in fact, the grand patriarch — they actually called the gentleman Perry P. Nesbitt — was also born into slavery and was emancipated at age nine; he became a prominent landowner in Pinckneyville and that was highly unusual.”

In that period of the nation’s history, it was very unusual for someone of color – especially someone who had been born into slavery — to become a well-known and prominent landowner. “That was done strictly through work ethic and a love of education and that it was a story that had to be told,” added Townsend.

Fast forward to the mid-1900s, and Gwinnett County hadn’t changed much from its early days. To the people in Fulton and DeKalb counties, Gwinnett was pretty much the wild and wooly wilderness. There wasn’t much development, but there was a lot of trade with the railroad coming through Norcross.

Attracting best, brightest minds

You really can’t document Peachtree Corners history without mentioning Paul Duke. After graduating from the Georgia Institute of Technology, he worked for
L.B. Foster, a railroad equipment manufacturer.

In the late 1960s, he pitched an idea for a planned community in the area known as Pinckneyville, now Peachtree Corners. He had the vision for a place where people could live and work in the same area to eliminate long commutes. In essence, he designed one of the first live-work developments.

Duke was concerned that Georgia Tech grads basically had their bags packed before graduation and headed to places outside the state. This “brain drain” was taking away the best Georgia-grown intelligence to help other areas prosper.

“Part of his job with [Foster] was to acquire properties on which to build their facilities. And as a result of those responsibilities, he ended up in western Gwinnett County and he immediately dubbed it ‘God’s country.’ He thought it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen,” Townsend said. “That’s when he got the idea to build this cutting-edge technology campus or business campus with a focus on technology to attract those engineers.”

Duke developed the business area called Technology Park which brought high-tech industries into the area. In the mid-1970s, another developer, Jim Cowart, built upon Duke’s idea with the neighborhoods of Peachtree Station, River Station and others. In the 30-plus years since the vision of Peachtree Corners, the population has skyrocketed with an estimated current total of nearly 50,000.

Protecting the quality of life

Although Technology Park has a lot to do with Peachtree Corners success and growth, the uniqueness of the city is so much more than that.

With the seven-mile northwestern boundary of the Chattahoochee River, Peachtree Corners residents have an abundance of natural beauty within their sight. The 277-acre Simpsonwood Park is a heavily wooded area along the Chattahoochee. In 2016, Gwinnett County developed a $7 million plan to upgrade the area. It added a learning playground, nature overlooks, trail improvements and camping amenities.

Jones Bridge and Holcomb Bridge parks are also located along the banks of the Chattahoochee. They are parcels of natural beauty that offer playgrounds, river overlooks, fishing pavilions and open meadow space.

With so much emphasis on growth and development, the city founders believed it was important to keep in mind quality of life issues. Some of the same breathtaking scenery that first drew the Creek and Cherokee tribes, as well as the first European settlements, has survived to this day.

Maintaining that balance of progress and preservation has been a goal for the United Peachtree Corners Civic Association (UPCCA). The nonprofit, non-partisan organization serves the residents of Peachtree Corners in their desire to maintain high quality of life standards. The association monitors and communicates land use and rezonings, transportation, education, public safety and other issues of significance to the community.

It recently held a townhall meeting allowing all interested parties to learn about planned changes to The Forum at Peachtree Parkway and surrounding areas. It also held its annual COPS forum where residents learned about public safety issues in their neighborhoods, schools and all throughout the city.

“We actually predate the city,” explained UPCCA President Matt Lombardi. “It was from this organization that the question of cityhood first arose — and it wasn’t an impulsive decision. We all weighed the pros and cons of adding another layer of bureaucracy to the area.”

Peachtree Corners was a city-like area, but not quite what the Census Bureau calls a designated place —a statistical geographic entity representing a closely settled, unincorporated community that is locally recognized and identified by name.

Lombardi admitted that he wasn’t completely sold on the idea of cityhood at first. “I thought we had a good thing at the time and wasn’t sure we needed to change it,” he said. “I’d been pulled over three times in Dunwoody, which had just become a city, and was concerned that we’d become a speed trap needing the revenue to pay for police and other services.”

Lombardi said one of the selling points for forming a city was that there wouldn’t be a city police force. To this day, Peachtree Corners uses Gwinnett County law enforcement.

A city is born

As early as 1999, the notion of forming a city had been bandied about. On July 1, 2012, Peachtree Corners officially became a city, the county’s 16th — and largest — city, and the first to incorporate since 1956.

“The people have spoken,” said Mike Mason, who had led the campaign as the president of the UPCCA, in a statement to the Gwinnett Daily News. “Now, we have a voice. We can have a plan for the future.”

Gwinnett County Commissioner Lynette Howard, who represented the area at the time, said cityhood allows local residents to have more control of their own destiny. “I just love the branding and the identity, and it’s just going to strengthen,” she told Gwinnett Daily Post. “It’s so exciting. It’s not (just) a volunteer community anymore.”

Now mayor of Peachtree Corners, Mike Mason said the city is what he and other envisioned — and more. “The original purpose of the city was self-determination. We all felt that the citizens of Peachtree Corners should make decisions about our future, not the county, or anyone else. So, from a self-determination point of view, it’s been exactly what we hoped,” he said.

“What’s been better than we hoped has been the extent that self-determination has fueled innovation, creativity and flexibility. Curiosity Lab is a world class entity. No one was talking about incubators or sophisticated high tech, global economic development programs in 2011. No one knew we’d have to pivot and save the trees in Simpsonwood Park from development in our first year of existence. No one was thinking about a Town Center or multiuse trails either.

“I’ve been told many times by former county officials and citizens alike that without the city, Peachtree Corners would have a very, very different look. A look our citizens would not approve,” Mason concluded.

Lisa Proctor, president of Peachtree Corners Business Association (PCBA), a civic organization that is also celebrating a 10-year anniversary, agreed. “Celebrating milestones such as the 10-year anniversary of the City of Peachtree Corners provides the unique opportunity to take a step back and reflect on what is working and what can continue to be improved and enhanced,” she said.

“Like any new city, we are experiencing change and growing pains. Being informed and staying up to date on what is happening is a challenge when growth is happening so quickly,” Proctor added. “As a long-term resident and business owner in the city, I have the opportunity to evaluate these questions from both perspectives.

“I continue to feel strongly that in order to have effective planned growth, we need our planning and zoning to maintain the quality of our community by limiting exceptions, changes in zoning and overgrowth with too many apartments, too much traffic and overcrowding our natural resources, schools, sewers and amenities,” she said.

But Proctor stressed that she believes that Peachtree Corners is living up to its mission. “I would love to see Peachtree Corners continue to grow and evolve while maintaining a sense of community and service that reflects our values and community spirit. I think with a balance of continued input from both the residential and business community, these objectives can be met. I do believe it is important to have a community that respects its citizens throughout their life — from child to senior citizen — and a city that does not only focus on limited demographics.”

Ready to take on the future

Through her research, Townsend gained a new respect for Peachtree Corners. “My takeaway from this book is the fact that Peachtree Corners is undisputedly the crown jewel of Gwinnett County,” she said. “The American dream today is not what it was in the late 60s and 70s. Millennials — the workforce now — they don’t want the big house and the two cars in the driveway and the 2.2 kids … They want smaller, more efficient housing. They want walkability. I’m not sure a visionary as Paul Duke could have understood where technology was going by this time. So, Technology Park has been reimagined and it’s an example for the world not just for the nation.”

Mayor Mason admitted he doesn’t have a crystal ball, but he has high hopes for the city’s future. “Who knows where Curiosity Lab will go, how Intuitive Surgical will change the city or the impact of the redevelopment of The Forum? After 10 years, I am still trying to find that magic bullet to initiate redevelopment on the southside,” he said.

“What I’d like to see is a rapid bus corridor leaving Doraville Station, going down Buford Highway, then on to Jimmy Carter and Holcomb Bridge Road, turning around at the little Publix with several transit hubs along the way. I’ve been told our citizens living along that corridor would benefit from transit and this would be a real spur to redevelopment.”

Mason added, “My other dream is to have a college in Peachtree Corners. We have two high schools in our community and lots of other residents — of all ages — would benefit from educational opportunities in the city. I’m not just talking about general education, but technical programs that complement Curiosity Lab, Intuitive Surgical and our other technology-based businesses.

“The possibilities for Peachtree Corners are limitless given the innovation and creativity of our citizens.”

Arlinda Smith Broady is part of the Boomerang Generation of Blacks that moved back to the South after their ancestors moved North. With approximately three decades of journalism experience (she doesn't look it), she's worked in tiny, minority-based newsrooms to major metropolitans. At every endeavor she brings professionalism, passion, pluck, and the desire to spread the news to the people.

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City Government

The Future of Law Enforcement in Peachtree Corners: Community Meeting

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Flyer for a community meeting regarding law enforcement in Peachtree Corners.

The City of Peachtree Corners will hold an important public meeting on May 8 to discuss the future of law enforcement in our community — including the potential creation of a city police department.

This meeting will feature a presentation by City Manager Brian Johnson on the findings of a comprehensive Police Analysis & Staffing Study that evaluated the feasibility and projected costs of forming a city police department based on current workload, crime levels and community demographics.

The presentation will also include budgetary considerations, comparative models and the advantages and disadvantages of a county vs. city police department.

Following the presentation, there will be time for a Q&A and open dialogue.

In-person attendance is limited to 300. First come, first served. A livestream option will be available for those who can’t attend in person.

After the meeting, a follow-up survey will be available on the city’s project page.

Meeting details

The Future of Law Enforcement in Peachtree Corners

Date/Time: May 8, 2025 at 7 p.m.

Location: Christ the King Lutheran Church (5775 Peachtree Parkway)

For more information, visit peachtreecornersga.gov.

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City Government

Councilmember Eric Christ: 2025 Peachtree Corners Municipal Elections

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A white man with glasses, wearing a dark colored jacket walking in the road alongside a line of vintage cars.

Source: Peachtree Corners Post 2 Councilmember Eric Christ’s recent newsletter.

Peachtree Corners Municipal Elections Tuesday, November 4 in white font on a blue background.

On Tuesday, November 4, we will have municipal elections here in the City of Peachtree Corners for three council seats. [And] for the first time since 2013, there will be a state-wide election on the same day as our city general election. 

The state-wide election is to fill two seats on the Public Service Commission, which regulates Georgia Power and other utilities.

For the PSC election, the Gwinnett County Board of Elections will have all 156 county precincts open on November 4. Historically, Peachtree Corners has had a single voting location for city elections — at City Hall.

If we do the same this year, citizens who want to vote in both the PSC and the City Council elections will need to go to two places to cast their ballots.

A few years ago, I convinced the County Board of Elections to remove their prohibition against the Gwinnett Elections Department managing city elections. (Every county surrounding Gwinnett already offered this service to their cities.)

This means there is the potential of adding our city council elections to the county ballot.

I would like to hear your thoughts on the pros and cons of combining our city council races with the county’s for this year’s elections. 

Please complete my brief survey by clicking here.



To sign up for Councilmember Christ’s newsletter or find him on social media, visit linktr.ee/votechrist.

You can read more from his latest newsletter updates here and here.

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City Government

City of Peachtree Corners Receives Distinguished Budget Presentation Award

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Logo for the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award

For the eighth year in a row, the City of Peachtree Corners has been esteemed with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award. This award was presented by the Georgia Finance Officers Association (GFOA) for the City’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget submission.

  • policy document
  • financial plan
  • operations guide
  • communications device

Certificate of Recognition

When a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award is granted to an entity, a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation is also presented to the individual(s) or department designated as being primarily responsible for having achieved the award.

“Congratulations to the entire finance team on receiving this award,” said City Manager Brian Johnson

“This recognition is a testament to our team’s hard work, professionalism and commitment to excellence.”

There are over 1,700 participants in the Budget Awards Program. The most recent Budget Award recipients, along with their corresponding budget documents, are posted quarterly on GFOA’s website.

Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

About the GFOA

The Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) advances excellence in government finance by providing best practices, professional development, resources and practical research for more than 21,000 members and the communities they serve.

About the City of Peachtree Corners, Georgia

As the heart of what is being called #SiliconOrchard in the metro Atlanta region, Peachtree Corners is a vibrant municipality that’s home to more than 45,000 residents and an innovation hub that houses some of the world’s most disruptive technology companies.

As the United States’ premier smart city powered by real-world connected infrastructure and 5G, Peachtree Corners serves as the model for how government and private industry can better collaborate to create a better future for society and business.

From the world’s first deployment of teleoperated e-scooters to fully autonomous shuttles being utilized by actual residents, and from a solar roadway to the largest electric vehicle charging hub in the region, Peachtree Corners is where the most future-forward Internet of Things (IoT) and sustainable technologies come to life for the benefit of its people and the world.

For more information, visit peachtreecornersga.gov.

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