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Dunwoody city leaders want to consolidate postal ZIP Codes in an effort to help boost the community’s sense of identity.
Especially the ZIP Code that puts some Dunwoody residents in the 30360 ZIP Code – the postal zone that includes Doraville.
“You definitely have more community cohesion and a greater sense of identity with the same postal code,” said Kimberly Greer, assistant to the city manager. “We have received requests from residents who want us to make these changes.”
There’s an array of surrounding ZIP Codes that bump up into Dunwoody’s city limits, and the city’s largest postal zone, 30338.
The 30350, 30328 postal zones that are designated for Atlanta and Sandy Springs encroach into Dunwoody’s city boundaries, but not nearly to the degree of Doraville’s 30360 postal zone.
Representatives of the U.S. Postal Service say the ZIP Code designations are only used for mail sorting. However, ZIP Codes are routinely used for setting rates for property and auto insurance, culling demographic information and estimating home values.
Dunwoody City Councilman Doug Thompson, who lives in the Doraville postal zone, said that the change of a portion of the 30360 postal code to Dunwoody’s predominant 30338 zone could help create uniformity in the city.
Right now, people searching to buy a home in Dunwoody might very well only be looking for houses in its dominant postal zone, even though the city spills over into the Doraville postal zone.
“People searching for a home in Dunwoody aren’t necessarily going to be looking in 30360,” Thompson said, adding that a consolidated postal zone that coincides with the city’s boundaries could help in tracking important demographics.
About a year ago, there was talk by the U.S. Postal Service about moving the postal branch in Dunwoody Village.
The post office in Dunwoody Village, due to growth around the metro area, serves merely as a retail postal center because the branch is no longer big enough to house the letter carriers that deliver the mail in and around Dunwoody, said Michael Miles, spokesman for the Atlanta district of the U.S. Postal Service.
Sorting of mail is performed at a facility near I-285 and Shallowford Road. Letter carriers are also housed there, Miles said.
“There was discussion going back some time ago … about relocating over on Shallowford Road,” he said. “But, there are no plans to move the Dunwoody post office.”
As far as Dunwoody consolidating ZIP Codes inside the city, Miles said a dozen such requests come in from the Atlanta region every year. One of the keys is whether it makes sense to consolidate ZIP Codes for efficient postal operations, he said.
“There are a lot of things that go into making ZIP Code boundaries,” he said. “Those sometimes don’t jibe with municipal boundaries.”
The postal service agreeing to the change would be the first step for the city to consolidate ZIP Codes. Residents in the changing postal zones would also have to vote in favor of the change.