Fairburn City Council’s Aug. 27 denial of a request by Walker Brothers to establish a waste transfer station for construction debris and household trash on Bohannon Road is about to land the city in court. Walker filed a lawsuit Sept. 11 in Fulton County Superior Court, insisting that the site plan should have been approved because the property was already zoned for that use, according to city administrator Jim Williams at the council’s Oct. 8 meeting.

The council sided with a massive outpouring of concern by residents in recent weeks by denying the conceptual site plan that would have led to the construction of the transfer station on a 26.48-acre site located on the west side of Bohannon Road between Roosevelt Highway and I-85.

Cited in the lawsuit were Mayor Betty Hannah, members of the City Council and Williams. In his comments about the lawsuit, city attorney Brad Sears told the council the city’s liability carrier has declined to defend the case.

Residents had filled the council chambers at several previous meetings, clear in their insistence that the approval of the Bohannon Road transfer station would pose significant problems for nearby residential areas. Residents’ objections included the increased volume of truck traffic, damage to city streets, the impact on property values, increased odors, the presence of vermin and potential environmental justice violations as reasons for prompting the council to deny the request. Residents were supported at one of the meetings by Congressman David Scott, Rep. Virgil Fludd, Fulton County commissioners Bill Edwards and Rob Pitts and Sen. Kasim Reed.

At the Aug. 27 meeting the council gave residents what they wanted, denying Walker’s request. Walker’s attorney disagreed. In the lawsuit, attorney David Flint said denial of the conceptual site plan in an area already zoned for such a use was arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable and an abuse of authority.

In a related matter, Williams said board members at the upcoming meeting of the Planning Commission would consider prohibiting transfer stations in the M-2 zoning district in response to the direction offered by the council in its recent decision. The Walker Brothers lawsuit does not affect the city’s ability to move ahead and address the text of the zoning ordinance, Williams said.