Fresh Loaf

The Georgia Supreme Court has ruled that a still-incomplete 1,014-acre project across the harbor from historic Cumberland Island does not have to adhere to state-ordered environmental standards for the area.

In a 5-2 decision, the court ruled that the 1970 Coastal Marshlands Protection Act does not extend to “residential upland areas.” A coalition of environmental and conservation groups sued because they said the development would increase polluted stormwater into marshlands and endanger marine life. The residential portion of the project should have been considered during the permitting process that gave the greenlight to docks and marinas in the harbor.

A dash of irony — Land Resource, the builder of the Cumberland Harbor development, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection late last month. The future of the project is unknown.

To read the court’s ruling summary, follow the jump.

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The state Supreme Court unanimously ruled today that Public Service Commission Democratic nominee Jim Powell can stay on the ballot.

UPDATE: Grift has some discussion on his site about the ruling, plus the actual opinion. You can also download it here.

Here is the release from the court:

STATE SUPREME COURT AFFIRMS POWELL’S RUN FOR PSC

Atlanta, Oct. 30, 2008 – The Supreme Court of Georgia today upheld James R. Powell’s right to run in Tuesday’s election for a seat on the Public Service Commission.

Secretary of State Karen Handel had appealed a Fulton County Superior Court ruling that sided with Powell and overturned her decision finding Powell ineligible to run based on where he lived. In June 2008, Handel first challenged Powell’s qualifications a month after he filed his intent to run as a Democrat against Republican Lauren McDonald for the PSC District 4 post. She argued that a homestead exemption Powell had on his Cobb County property established an irrefutable presumption of legal residence and proved Powell did not live in the North Georgia district he seeks to represent. In her appeal, Handel argued that under state law, the trial court should have given deference to her interpretation of the law on residency that she is in charge of enforcing.

But in today’s unanimous decision, written by Justice Robert Benham, the Supreme Court disagrees. “It is the role of the judicial branch to interpret the statutes enacted by the legislative branch and enforced by the executive branch…, and administrative rulings will be adopted only when they conform to the meaning which the court deems should properly be given,” 8-page opinion says. The facts of the case are not in dispute, merely the interpretation of the law, the opinion points out.

In 2006, Powell purchased a second home in Towns County, which is in District 4. In 2007, he attempted unsuccessfully to transfer his homestead exemption from Cobb to Towns County, but he missed the filing deadline. Evidence shows Powell spends more than 60 percent of his time in Towns County, where he has voted three times, attends church and pays taxes.

The residency law, which is Section 21-2-217 in the Official Code of Georgia, lists 15 rules for determining a candidate’s legal residence. At least seven apply to Powell, the Supreme Court has found, “but the Secretary’s decision did not take into account any of the applicable rules other than the homestead exemption rule.”

“We agree with the superior court that the Secretary committed an error of law that authorizes reversal of the Secretary’s decision,” today’s opinion says.

More to come.

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Georgia Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears says she’ll leave the highest court in the state when her term as Chief ends on June 30, 2009.

Appointed by then Gov. Zell Miller in 1992, Sears became the youngest and first woman to serve on the state Supreme Court. In 2005, she became Chief Justice — the first African-American woman in the United States to do so.

Sears’ exit also means she will step down as chair of the Judical Council of Georgia. She says she has no plans to retire and will weigh opportunities in law, business, academia or non-profit organizations.

“I believe we all have a purpose in our lives, and mine is to serve,” Sears said in a statement released by the court. “Achieving justice, equality and hope for our nation, our communities, our families – that’s what I was put here to do. And whatever I do next, I will not waver from that course.”

Sears’ name has been mentioned in some circles as a potential Supreme Court nominee should Barack Obama be elected president. Sure, you can say we’re banging the hometeam drum — yes, we were guilty of parroting the “Gov.-Perdue-might-be-McCain’s-running-mate” meme — but it merits a mention.

Full release after the jump.

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For you political junkies out there **cough**Grift, sara**cough**, here’s the state Supreme Court case summary of the Jim Powell and Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel residency slugfest. These excellent write-ups are penned by Jane Hansen, the court’s public information officer. She’s a former AJC reporter and two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist.

Monday, October 20, 2008

10:00 A.M. Session

HANDEL V. POWELL (S09A0074)

This appeal stems from a dispute between Secretary of State Karen Handel and James R. Powell, who is running for a seat on the Public Service Commission. Handel is appealing a Fulton County Superior Court ruling that sided with Powell, overturning Handel’s decision that Powell was ineligible to run based on his residency. The Supreme Court agreed to expedite oral arguments in the case.

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Commissioner Robert “Bobby” Baker woke up to some good news today.

The state Supreme Court this morning upheld a lower court’s ruling in a dispute over Baker’s residence, allowing the chairman of the Public Service Commission to keep his spot.

In 2006, Roger Dozier — the opponent Baker bested in the 2004 Republican primary — and Eleanor McMannon filed a complaint alleging that Baker didn’t live in the Athens district he represents on the commission.

The court found that Baker does indeed reside in Clarke County. “None of Appellants’ evidence presented any facts inconsistent with Commissioner Baker’s evidence and sworn intention that his domicile is in Clarke County,” the court’s opinion says.

Had the court ruled otherwise, it could’ve been an odd time for the state. The five-member commission has a reputation for being a bit too cozy with the utilities whose rates and operations it oversees. When Commissioner Angela Speir announced last month that she would not be seeking re-election, the public-interest community cast their eyes nervously on those who would seek her place, as well as toward Baker, who is often mentioned in the same sentence as Speir as a champion for consumers.

The excellently written press release regarding the ruling after the jump:
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What fools men are! To believe that our laws can dilly dally with the tortured souls wandering our realm, forever banished from the next! Fools, I tell you!

Actually, the case in question involves one Timothy Seymour, barn owner and all-around nice guy. He wanted to hook up the Comer kidfolk with a Halloween-themed house of frights, strobe lights and plastic masks. He thought the city council was cool with it. Turns out they weren’t.

May justice prevail! Full release from the state Supreme Court with all the details follows after the jump.

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The Atlanta Development Authority — the city’s economic development engine — responded yesterday to the Georgia Supreme Court’s ruling that the Beltline could not utilize nearly $860 million generated by the tax allocation district, or TAD. In so many words: The ADA’s disappointed and says yesterday’s ruling will have a big impact on what’s become the financing mechanism du jour in Georgia. Here’s the ADA’s response and updates on where existing TADs stand, as well as some background on TIFs, which are basically TADs by another name. Emphasis has been added to highlight key points.

This decision will reduce the economic impact of all TADs statewide. TADs are a national best practice (known as TIFs, or tax increment financings, in other states) and the City’s most effective incentive in helping to revitalize underdeveloped areas of the City. This ruling in essence cuts in half the incentive benefit and may slow redevelopment in the City’s targeted areas.

The City of Atlanta currently has ten TADs: Westside Downtown, Atlantic Station, Princeton Lakes, Perry-Bolton, Eastside Downtown, BeltLine, Campbellton Road, DL Hollowell Parkway/MLK, Metropolitan Parkway and Stadium Area.

This ruling will not impact projects funded by TADs where validated bonds are outstanding. Since 1997, bonds have been issued in the Atlantic Station, Princeton Lakes, Eastside and Westside TADs, totaling $410 million.

This ruling will affect future bond offerings in all of the City’s TADs. For example, bond offerings planned for 2008 are the BeltLine, the Perry-Bolton TAD and the third bond offering for the Westside TAD. We will revise the feasibility numbers for the Perry-Bolton and Westside projects to assess the funding implications for each of the proposed projects. ADA will communicate its findings to each development team later this week.

We are committed to moving forward with redevelopment projects in all of the City’s TADs. For more information, please see the following web sites:

TIFs as a national best practice

TADs in Georgia
2007 year-end report on the City’s Tax Allocation Districts

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Beltline CEO Terri Montague sent a mass e-mail to members of the project’s tax allocation district advisory council. It’s pasted below. Emphasis has been added to highlight some of the questions that have been raised by the court’s ruling.

From: “Terri Montague”
To: [redacted]
Subject: GA Supreme Court Ruling - Update
Date: Mon, 11 Feb 2008 11:18:07 +0000

Dear BeltLine TADAC Members:

We just learned that the Georgia Supreme Court has reversed the Fulton County Superior Court’s January 2007 ruling validating the BeltLine TAD bonds. In a unanimous ruling, the Supreme Court specifically held that funding plans like the BeltLine’s violate the Educational Purpose Clause of the State constitution - in effect preventing the inclusion of school district tax increment for these types of projects.

We are disappointed in this ruling, but we remain focused on the BeltLine vision. And we will continue working without interruption with our staffs and public and private partners toward its fulfillment using alternative funding sources - as we have for the last 16 months.

Our work over that time has built important momentum and revealed the broad political, civic and business will behind the BeltLine - not as merely an amenity for Atlanta but, rather, as an integrated solution to some of the City’s and region’s most pressing needs. Neither those needs nor that will is diminished by this legal decision.

The BeltLine Team now faces questions about precisely how the BeltLine will proceed - considering, as we will in the coming days and weeks ahead, our legal, political and financial options. Meanwhile, communities with pending TAD programs across the State will undoubtedly be evaluating how they will implement their priority projects, as well. Please feel free to contact Roland Young or Rukiya Eaddy if you have questions, or would like to arrange a fuller briefing in the meantime. We expect that this important ruling will attract extensive media coverage, starting this morning.

As stewards of the BeltLine vision and support, we will update you again soon.

Sincerely,
Terri Y. Montague
President & CEO
Atlanta BeltLine, Inc.
404-614-8322

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City of Atlanta attorney Beth Chandler, Beltline CEO Terri Montague and Peggy McCormick, the president of the Atlanta Development Authority, will hold a press conference in City Hall at 1 p.m. 2 p.m. regarding this morning’s state Supreme Court ruling about the Beltline. Update: Mayor Shirley Franklin, fresh off the plane from New Delhi, wants a piece of this, too. She’ll be in attendance.

If you got questions you’d like us to ask, post ‘em here.

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The Supreme Court of Georgia has unanimously ruled that the use of school-tax revenue for non-educational purposes — in this case, to build the Beltline — violates the state constitution. John Woodham, a Fulton County resident opposed to the tax allocation district funding mechanism, represented himself in the case.

What does this mean? Well, it means the Beltline project is now without a whole lotta’ money. About $200 million. Trying to get the exact amount here…getting ranges from $200 million to $1.7 billion.

From the court’s press release:

But in today’s unanimous ruling, written by Justice Hugh Thompson, the Court agrees with Woodham that the use of school funds for non-educational purposes violates the Educational Purpose Clause of the state Constitution. The Court cites two earlier Supreme Court decisions in concluding “that school tax funds levied and collected by the school system cannot constitutionally be applied to benefit the BeltLine project.”

Full press release after the jump. More to come on this later.

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Fulton County man kills person outside popular Atlanta locale and is arrested. Man is Muslim and does not want his beard or hair cut in jail, per his religious beliefs. Sentencing court says, “Cool.” Man goes to jail. Over the course of next four years, jail orders man’s hair and beard cut per its policies. Man has since converted to Rastafarianism and now sports dreadlocks, however, but still says, “Hold up, jail, and live up to your agreement.” Bickering ensues, and state Supreme Court says it’ll listen to the case.

For some reason I’m fascinated by this. Does a state Supreme Court justice take an awkward pause before he or she says “dreadlocks?” Read the state case summary after the jump.

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Tomorrow will be a deciding factor in the push to get the Beltline underway. John Woodham, as discussed in these pages, will have his day in state Supreme Court tomorrow at 10 a.m. Woodham has argued that the funding strategy proposed for the Beltline — a tax allocation district that will freeze property taxes in a specified region and use the incremental gains generated to fund the project — sluices cash from schools and uses the funds for non-educational purposes, a violation of the state Constitution. It is the first time, even though several other projects have used the TAD strategy — such as Atlantic Station and Princeton Lakes — that it has been challenged in court. The TAD funds for the Beltline are estimated to make up $1.7 billion of the project — half of the total cost.

For the court docket, go here. Jane Hansen, the state Supreme Court public information officer, said the court will webcast the hearing live. Although a link is not available at the moment, she said it would appear here tomorrow. CL will also be there and keep you updated. The hearing is open to the public, so if you’d like to sit in, go here for directions to the Judicial Building downtown.

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