Sugar Hill, Georgia

Sugar Hill, Georgia
City

Location in Gwinnett County and the state of Georgia
Coordinates: 34°6′8″N 84°2′39″W / 34.10222°N 84.04417°W / 34.10222; -84.04417Coordinates: 34°6′8″N 84°2′39″W / 34.10222°N 84.04417°W / 34.10222; -84.04417
Country United States
State Georgia
County Gwinnett
Area
 • Total 10.63 sq mi (27.53 km2)
 • Land 10.59 sq mi (27.44 km2)
 • Water 0.03 sq mi (0.09 km2)
Elevation 1,148 ft (350 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 18,522
 • Density 1,748/sq mi (674.9/km2)
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP code 30518
Area code(s) 770, 678
FIPS code 13-74180[1]
GNIS feature ID 0333152[2]
Website www.cityofsugarhill.com

Sugar Hill is a city in northern Gwinnett County in the U.S. state of Georgia and is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. The population was 18,522 as of the 2010 census,[3] making it the fourth-largest city in Gwinnett County. As of 2015, the estimated population was 21,747.[4]

History

Sugar Hill was established through a charter by the Georgia state assembly in 1939 as the Town of Sugar Hill[5] and officially incorporated on March 24, 1939.[6] The town was renamed the City of Sugar Hill in 1975.[7] Before the city was incorporated, the area was part of a route from the railroad in Buford to the city of Cumming. According to Sugar Hill's city hall, the town was named after an incident where a large shipment of sugar spilled and the area became known as "the hill where the sugar spilled" or "the sugar hill".[8]

In 2001 a drastic increase in natural gas prices, disproportionate to the cost of natural gas outside of Sugar Hill, resulted in residents forming "The Committee to Dissolve Sugar Hill", with over 1,600 residents signing a petition calling for a referendum to abolish both the municipal utility and the city itself.[9] State senator Billy Ray proposed a bill asking for a non-binding referendum. The bill was passed in the state senate but failed to pass in the House, and the effort to revoke the city's charter was unsuccessful.[10] The city council responded to this effort by reducing the utility's prices to be comparable to the surrounding area.[11]

Geography

Sugar Hill, Georgia
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Average max. and min. temperatures in °F
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Sugar Hill is located in northern Gwinnett County in northern Georgia and is a suburb within the Atlanta metropolitan area. It is bordered to the northeast by the city of Buford and to the southwest by the city of Suwanee. Georgia State Route 20 is the main highway through the center of Sugar Hill, leading northwest 11 miles (18 km) to Cumming and south 12 miles (19 km) to Lawrenceville, the Gwinnett County seat. U.S. Route 23 runs along the southern edge of Sugar Hill, leading southwest 5 miles (8 km) to Suwanee and 10 miles (16 km) to Duluth. US 23 turns southeast at the Sugar Hill–Buford border and runs 1 mile (1.6 km) with SR 20 to Interstate 985, which in turn leads northeast 19 miles (31 km) to Gainesville and southwest 36 miles (58 km) to downtown Atlanta.

According to the United States Census Bureau, as of 2010 the city of Sugar Hill had a total land area of 10.6 square miles (27.5 km2), of which 0.04 square miles (0.1 km2), or 0.33%, was water.[3] The U.S. Geological Survey lists the city's elevation as 1,149 feet (350 m).[12]

Climate

The climate of Sugar Hill, as with most of the southeastern United States, is humid subtropical (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification with four seasons including hot, humid summers and cool winters.

July is generally the warmest month of the year with an average high of around 87 °F (31 °C). The coldest month is January which has an average high of around 50 °F (10 °C).[13] The highest recorded temperature was 107 °F (42 °C) in 1952, while the lowest recorded temperature was −8 °F (−22 °C) in 1985.[13]

Sugar Hill receives abundant rainfall distributed fairly evenly throughout the year typical of southeastern cities, with February on average having the highest average precipitation at 5.3 inches (130 mm), and April typically being the driest month with 3.7 inches (94 mm).[13]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
1940599—
195078330.7%
19601,17550.1%
19701,74548.5%
19802,47341.7%
19904,55784.3%
200011,399150.1%
201018,52262.5%
Est. 201521,747[4]17.4%
U.S. Decennial Census[14]

As of 2010 Sugar Hill had a population of 18,522, with 6,114 households and 4,832 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,748 inhabitants per square mile (675/km2). The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 72.4% white, 9.8% black or African American, 0.3% Native American, 1.3% Asian Indian, 5.0% other Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 8.6% from some other race and 2.5% from two or more races. 19.6% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.[15]

Of the city's 6,114 households, 45.2%% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.9%% were married couples living together, 13.2%% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.8% were non-familie households. 18.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.06 and the average family size was 3.46.

The median income for a household in the city was $70,106, and the median income for a family was $75,473. Males had a median income of $53,890 versus $37,991 for females. The per capita income for the city was $27,119. About 9.3% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.4% of those under age 18 and 4.0% of those age 65 or over.

After the 2000 census the city's growth was ranked 75 out of the 100 highest growing cities in the nation, and one of the 20 fastest growing in the state of Georgia[16] and is Gwinnett County's fourth-largest city by population.[17] Sugar Hill was the third-largest city in Gwinnett County[18] until Peachtree Corners became a city on July 1, 2012.[19]

Economy

On April 28, 2011, Governor Nathan Deal signed legislation that allowed individual local communities to vote on whether to allow alcohol sales on Sundays, which had previously been prohibited by the Georgia General Assembly since the 1800s.[20] A total of 97 cities and counties in Georgia held referendums on November 8, 2011[21] including Sugar Hill. The Sugar Hill city council voted to allow Sugar Hill residents vote on the issue[18] and on November 15, 2011[22] Sugar Hill became one of several cities that voted to allow Sunday sales of alcohol.[23] In 2012 the remaining areas of Gwinnett County that did not hold November 8 referendums voted to allow Sunday sales.[24] Supporters of the proposal to allow Sunday sales of alcohol argued that doing so would help the economy.[20]

Government

The City of Sugar Hill is governed by a mayor and five member city council, with one councilman acting as mayor pro tempore.

When Sugar Hill was established in 1939, the town charter called for a mayor and five city councilmen, and that these elected officials were to be elected every two years.[5] An amendment to the town's charter in 1952 changed the election process so that the mayor and three members of the town council are elected on even years for a term of two years, and two other members of the council are elected on odd years for a term of two years.[7] In 1975, when the new charter was enacted that reincorporated the Town of Sugar Hill as the City of Sugar Hill, it added the requirement that a councilmen be appointed as mayor pro tempore, and retained the election method established in 1952.[25]

The city's budget in 2012 was $28.2 million, and in 2013 was $19.4 million.[17] In 2010[26] Sugar Hill approved the process of constructing a larger city hall to accommodate for the city's increase in population. The new city hall was completed and opened in January 2013.[27]

Sugar Hill is part of Georgia's 7th congressional district[28][29] The city is part of the Georgia State Senate's 45th district, and the 97th, 98th, and 102nd districts for the Georgia House of Representatives.[28]

Education

Gwinnett county operates Gwinnett County Public Schools for K-12 students living in Sugar Hill. Sugar Hill Elementary, White Oak Elementary, Sycamore Elementary, Lanier Middle School and Lanier High School are the public schools serving the city of Sugar Hill residents.

Gwinnett County Public Library operates the Buford-Sugar Hill Branch in Buford.[30]

Media

As part of the Metro Atlanta area, Sugar Hill's primary network-affiliated television stations are WXIA-TV (NBC), WGCL-TV (CBS), WSB-TV (ABC), and WAGA-TV (Fox). WGTV is the flagship station of the statewide Georgia Public Television network and is a PBS member station.

Sugar Hill is served by the Gwinnett Daily Post, which is the most widely distributed newspaper in Sugar Hill as well as Gwinnett's legal organ.[31] The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is also distributed in Sugar Hill.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Sugar Hill's major road is State Route 20, which travels through Sugar Hill in a general northwest-southeast direction, going southeast into the adjoining city of Buford and northwest into Forsyth County. The nearest interstates are I-985 and I-85, which are both accessible via State Route 20 in Buford.

Utilities

The city is a member of the Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia[11][32] and manages the Sugar Hill Gas Department which provides natural gas for the city's residents.[33]

References

  1. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  3. 1 2 "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Sugar Hill city, Georgia". American Factfinder. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  4. 1 2 "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2015". Retrieved July 2, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia. 1939. Sugar Hill Town Charter. GALILEO.
  6. ↑ "Sugar Hill". georgia.gov. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  7. 1 2 "Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia. 1952. Sugar Hill charter amended.". GALILEO.
  8. ↑ "Our History". City of Sugar Hill, Georgia. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
  9. ↑ Graham, Emily (28 March 2001). "Making a city history - Sugar Hill latest among small cities targeted for extinction". Creative Loafing. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  10. ↑ "Gwinnett County, Ga., Grows by Turning Inward.". Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . 2 September 2002. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  11. 1 2 "Uproar Simmers as Sugar Hill, Ga., Gas Utility Changes Pricing Structure.". Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . 1 April 2001. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  12. ↑ "Sugar Hill, GA". mapper.acme.com. United States Geological Survey. Retrieved November 30, 2016.
  13. 1 2 3 "Average Weather for Buford, GA". The Weather Channel. Retrieved 23 September 2012.
  14. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  15. ↑ "American FactFinder". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  16. ↑ "Atlanta Metro Growth Outdistances Rest of State.". Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News  – via HighBeam Research (subscription required) . 14 July 2003. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
  17. 1 2 Alpert, Michael (10 December 2012). "Sugar Hill passes $19.4M 2013 budget". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  18. 1 2 Alpert, Michael (11 July 2011). "Sugar Hill to allow Sunday sales vote". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "Peachtree Corners to become county's largest city". 11 Alive. 9 November 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  20. 1 2 Leslie, Jennifer (20 November 2011). "Sunday sales off to a brisk start in many cities". 11 Alive. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  21. ↑ Galloway, Jim (13 September 2011). "Political Insider 97 Georgia counties, cities set to vote on Sunday sales". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  22. ↑ "Ordinance - Alcohol Sunday Sales" (PDF). City of Sugar Hill. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  23. ↑ "Sunday alcohol sales start in metro Atlanta". CBS Atlanta. 18 December 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  24. ↑ Young, Camie (7 March 2012). "Sunday sales passes in Gwinnett, Buford by wide margin". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  25. ↑ "Acts and Resolutions of the General Assembly of the State of Georgia. 1975. City of Sugar Hill -- New Charter".
  26. ↑ Alpert, Michael (7 May 2010). "New City Hall to be heart of Sugar Hill". Gwinnett Daily Post. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  27. ↑ Young, Camie (8 January 2013). "New Sugar Hill City Hall opens for business". Gwinnett Daily Post.
  28. 1 2 "City of Sugar Hill". Georgia Municipal Association. Retrieved 17 January 2013.
  29. ↑ "Georgia's 7th Congressional District". opencongress.org. Retrieved 24 October 2012.
  30. ↑ "Hours & Locations." Gwinnett County Public Library. Retrieved on February 24, 2010.
  31. ↑ http://ga-legals.com/pages/legal_organs
  32. ↑ "Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC". Municipal Gas Authority of Georgia. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  33. ↑ "Sugar Hill Gas Utility". City of Sugar Hill, Georgia. Retrieved 16 January 2013.

External links

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