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Court of Appeals rules that gathering was not meeting
By David E. Hudson
GPA General Counsel
People fighting a rezoning decision in Marion County have lost on a claim that the decision resulted from an illegal meeting.
The Court of Appeals ruled that four Marion County commissioners did not violate the Open Meetings Act when they gathered with the county attorney following a Superior Court hearing that granted a challenge to a zoning board decision. The commissioners and the attorney met in private to discuss the ruling and steps that could be taken in the future to comply with the court's order.
When a new zoning application was filed, the county complied with the steps that the Superior Court had found were necessary for a valid rezoning.
Individuals dissatisfied with the second rezoning filed a lawsuit claiming that it was the result of the meeting with the county attorney.
The issues on appeal were whether the conference between the county attorney and the commissioners following the Superior Court hearing constituted a "meeting" under the act, and, if so, if it invalidated the second rezoning.
One of the tests for a meeting is whether the gathering of a quorum or more of the commissioners was "pursuant to schedule, call or notice … at a designated time and place" as provided in O.C.G.A. 50-14-1(a)(2). The Court of Appeals held that such a call or notice did not occur and instead that it was a spontaneous gathering instituted by the county attorney, and not a "meeting."
Furthermore, the Court of Appeals held that even if a "meeting" occurred, no "action" was taken and thus there was no basis to argue that anything said or done there invalidated the subsequent rezoning.
The case is Gumz v. Irvin, 300 Ga. App. 426 (October 2009). |
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