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Sandy Springs is a newly incorporated city (as of December 2005) in Fulton County, Georgia, north of Atlanta and south of Roswell. It is named for the sandy springs which still exist in the city today, which are protected as a historic site. With an estimated population of more than 85,000 (2006), Sandy Springs is Georgia's seventh-largest city.

History

In 1851, Wilson Spruill donated five acres (two hectares) of land for the founding of the Sandy Springs United Methodist Church near the sandy spring for which the city is named. Later, in 1905 the Hammond School was built at Johnson Ferry Road and Mt. Vernon Highway, across the street from the church.

After World War II, Sandy Springs experienced a housing boom, bringing new residents and major land development. In the 1960s and 1970s Georgia 400 and Interstate 285 connected Sandy Springs to metro Atlanta.

Geography

The boundaries of Sandy Springs are: Atlanta to the south, Cobb County (at the Chattahoochee River) to the west and north, Roswell (also at the river) to the north, and unincorporated Dunwoody (at the DeKalb County line) to the east. A small panhandle in the northeast extends between the Chattahoochee River to the north and Dunwoody to the south, ending in a very small border with Gwinnett County.

In the 1880s, this panhandle was part of DeKalb, but was later ceded to the former Milton County. Some residents of this area consider themselves to be part of the Dunwoody community, and were promised by the leaders of the incorporation movement that they would be allowed to keep their identity. A few months later however, this changed, when the new city took down street sign "toppers" which proclaimed the community's Dunwoody identity. The city later offered new ones, but only with the Sandy Springs name.

Panhandle residents were not allowed to vote separately on whether to join Sandy Springs in 2005. Legislation to incorporate the city of Dunwoody is expected in 2007, but there have been no statements regarding whether those in the Dunwoody-in-Sandy-Springs area would have their right of self-determination honored, after now-mayor Eva Galambos invoked the same principle in the creation of Sandy Springs.

If Milton County were to be created again, as some have been advocating recently, the city has not yet taken any position on whether it would join or even support such a move. A referendum could potentially treat the city as a separate "either/or" area, the way the Newtown area further north had the choice of joining existing Roswell or new Johns Creek (in a referendum inspired by Sandy Springs' successful bid for cityhood). If Sandy Springs were to vote to join the new county, it would make worse the problems the rest of Fulton has experienced due to the city's (and potentially county's) urban secession (though parts of south Fulton are deciding on their own defensive municipalizations in response).

Services

The new city is an experiment in privatization. Most services are being handled by consulting firm CH2M Hill-OMI, while some are temporarily being continued by the county. In 2006, the new police department took-over services from the county on July 1.

The city promptly began harsh enforcement of some new codes, as well as several older ones inherited from the county. The city has been criticized for some of this, including speed traps impeding traffic, and an old and little-enforced county ordinance which makes it illegal to have more than 10% of a window covered with lettering or other signage. Even retail chains with the same signs across metro Atlanta have been forced to change them at great expense, while they are acceptable everywhere else.

Some services have been difficult to obtain with the incorporation of the city, with some residents saying the services previously provided by Fulton County were more responsive.

Economy

The largest business districts are the Roswell Road corridor and Perimeter Center (although the Perimeter Mall itself resides in adjacent DeKalb County). Perimeter Center includes many high-rise buildings (including the tallest suburban buildings in the U.S., the 570-foot Concourse Towers). Just south of this business district, across I-285, is a major medical center, anchored by Northside Hospital, Georgia Reproductive Services, and Saint Joseph's Hospital.

Sandy Springs is one of metro Atlanta's most affluent residential communities. The city, and the area surrounding the city, is experiencing rapid residential development. Particulary, the trend of luxury high-rise condominum development has expanded past Atlanta's Midtown, Buckhead and Olympic Park neighborhoods and is now in Sandy Springs. Developments include Park Towers and the Manhattan.

(Note: the 2000 census numbers are for Sandy Springs prior to incorporation, but cover the same area.)

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 85,781 people, 39,288 households, and 19,683 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 878.1/km² (2,274.1/mi²). There were 42,794 housing units at an average density of 438.0/km² (1,134.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 77.55% White, 12.04% African American, 0.18% Native American, 3.29% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.94% from other races, and 1.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.93% of the population.

There were 39,288 households out of which 21.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 49.9% were non-families. 35.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.17 and the average family size was 2.87.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 17.8% under the age of 18, 10.5% from 18 to 24, 40.3% from 25 to 44, 21.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $60,428, and the median income for a family was $85,146. Males had a median income of $51,002 versus $36,493 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $45,494. About 3.9% of families and 6.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 6.9% of those age 65 or over.

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