Fairburn’s day in court is coming. The lawsuit over the city’s denial of a request by Walker Brothers to establish a waste transfer station for construction debris and household trash on Bohannon Road will be heard Dec. 19 at 9:30 a.m. in Fulton County Superior Court.

The lawsuit was prompted when the city council Aug. 27 sided with residents, voting unanimously to deny the conceptual site plan for the transfer station, even though such a use was permitted under the zoning category already in place at the site. Walker Brothers responded Sept. 11, filing a lawsuit in Fulton Superior Court on the basis that the establishment of a transfer station fell within the parameters of the M-2 zoning district.

Cited in the lawsuit were Mayor Betty Hannah, members of the city council and city administrator Jim Williams. In his Oct. 8 comments about the lawsuit, city attorney Brad Sears told the council the city’s liability carrier had declined to defend the case. In the lawsuit, Walker Brothers 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.

It was clear Aug. 27 that council members sided with residents who had packed the council chambers in their disagreement to the proposal, citing an 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 at that meeting were supported by a litany of elected officials who do not customarily attend city council meetings. Some of those included Congressman David Scott, Rep. Virgil Fludd, Fulton County commissioners Bill Edwards and Rob Pitts, Sen. Kasim Reed, House District 66 candidate and South Fulton/Fayette Community Task Force Chair Connie Biemiller, several members of the Tyrone Town Council and Atlanta-based ECO-Action Executive Director Yomi Noibi.

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