The Georgia Court of Appeals has affirmed a lower court’s validations orders entered in December in four bond validation proceedings which were challenged by a man objecting to the Development Authority of Fulton County’s policy of providing tax breaks for four new projects worth a combined $333.5 million. Julian Bene, a former board member with Invest Atlanta, the city’s development arm, in the past has spoken out against the authority’s policies, including its practice of giving tax abatements to projects. In December, after the four bond validation proceedings were initiated in Fulton County Superior Court, Bene intervened in the proceedings and filed objections, triggering judicial review of whether the bond proposals sought by the authority were lawful. His arguments included assertions that the projects were illegal because the proposed tax abatements violate the Georgia Constitution’s Gratuities Clause, and that projects in hot real estate markets in the city of Atlanta do not need tax breaks. But on Dec. 30, the superior court overruled Bene’s objections and issued orders validating the four bond proposals, and Bene, represented by John Woodham of Woodham Law in Atlanta, appealed to the court of appeals. However, the higher court, in an Oct. 27 ruling, affirmed the trial court’s validation orders.

The Projects and Process

Presiding Judge, Anne Elizabeth Barnes, Georgia Court of Appeals. Photo: John Disney/ALM Presiding Judge, Anne Elizabeth Barnes, Georgia Court of Appeals. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

According to the court document, the bonds in the lawsuit relate to the following four Fulton projects: $88.5 million for an Atlantic Station hotel complex that includes retail space, $55 million for a mixed-use development in southwest Atlanta and two west Midtown projects ($78 million for a multifamily housing facility and $115 million for a mixed-use development).