Judge rules north Macon homeowners association, residents do not have standing in lawsuit

A Bibb County judge has ruled that a north Macon homeowners association and nine residents do not have a standing in a civil lawsuit filed against the zoning commission and a developer.

The Rivoli Downs Homeowners Association and the residents filed a suit in Bibb County Superior Court in January asking a judge to reverse a decision by the Macon-Bibb County Planning & Zoning Commission that would allow an apartment complex to be built adjacent to the subdivision. The suit included the developer of the proposed project, BMW Developers LLC.

At the commission’s Dec. 14, 2015, meeting, the board unanimously agreed to rezone a 60-acre site at 5171 and 5259 Bowman Road from a single-family residential district and a planned development extraordinary district to a planned development residential district. The subdivision is adjacent along the rear of the property.

The proposed use is “a low-density, high-end multifamily residential development” with 240 one-, two- and three-bedroom units. It would include a clubhouse, outdoor pool, pond and walking trails. About 30 garage units also would be available.

In early January, the lawsuit was filed. In addition to the homeowners association, the nine petitioners are David Cozart, Ed Bond, Asbury Stembridge Jr., James Estes, Robert Heuman, Michael Greene, Dode Templeton, David Bullard and Billy Wayne Perry. All the residents live in the Rivoli Downs subdivision.

Superior Court Judge Verda M. Colvin concluded in her ruling dated Aug. 1 that the association and residents “lack standing to pursue their challenge to the Commission’s rezoning decision,” according to the order. “The Court further finds that even if Petitioners could demonstrate their standing, there has been a failure to show that the Commission abused its discretion in its rezoning decision.”

The petition claimed the commission “abused its discretion in rezoning two properties at the request” of BMW Developers. The petitioners also said the proposed development would “cause many negative impacts” to them including diminished property values.

Don Carter, president of engineering consultants Carter & Sloope, said during the commission’s December meeting that the density would be about four units per acre. He testified on behalf of the developer. He said he had never seen a multi-family development with a lower per-acre density than the one proposed by BMW.

If the property had been developed as single-family residential under its previous zoning, it would have resulted “in the loss of most if not all the buffer areas preserved by BMW’s proposed development,” the order said. Also, the commission would have had no oversight on “the value or aesthetics” of any single-family homes that might have been built there, “factors that could affect the value of Petitioners’ properties,” it said.

Colvin said in her order that there was no evidence “that the Petitioners would suffer any substantial damage to any substantial interest. Such evidence is required.”

This story was originally published August 9, 2016 at 6:54 PM with the headline "Judge rules north Macon homeowners association, residents do not have standing in lawsuit."