In addition to our normal news coverage, What Now Atlanta is tracking ways Atlanta’s businesses are adapting to the novel coronavirus and the challenges it brings to brick-and-mortars.
Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr on Thursday filed a lawsuit against Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the Atlanta City Council with the Superior Court of Fulton County.
The 124-page complaint seeks to legally strike down a mask mandate issued by Bottoms last week requiring Atlantans to wear masks in public places during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“Local governments, such as the City of Atlanta, do not have the ability or the authority to regulate and control the state of Georgia,” the lawsuit states. “As the Mayor of the City of Atlanta, Mayor Bottoms is charged with implementing the terms of the Governor’s COVID-19 Executive Orders within the city; Mayor Bottoms does not have the legal authority to modify, change, or ignore Governor Kemp’s Executive Orders.”
Kemp’s filing arrives shortly after Mayor Bottoms in a press conference Thursday said she would continue to enforce her mask mandate even after the Governor’s office “suspended” it by way of a renewed Executive Order Wednesday.
“This lawsuit is on behalf of the Atlanta business owners and their hardworking employees who are struggling to survive during these difficult times,” Kemp said in a statement Thursday. “These men and women are doing their very best to put food on the table for their families while local elected officials shutter businesses and undermine economic growth. Just like sending in the Georgia National Guard to protect those living in our capital city from crime and violence, I refuse to sit back and watch as disastrous policies threaten the lives and livelihoods of our citizens. We will fight to stop these reckless actions and put people over pandemic politics.”
Mayor Bottoms later tweeted a response to Kemp’s lawsuit saying, “3104 Georgians have died and I and my family are amongst the 106k who have tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, I have been sued by [Gov. Kemp] for a mask mandate. A better use of taxpayer money would be to expand testing and contact tracing.”
Click here to see the lawsuit in its entirety.
[Editor’s note: The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is rapidly evolving as is its effect on Atlanta, and the City’s businesses and its residents. Click here for What Now Atlanta’s ongoing coverage of the crisis. For guidance and updates on the pandemic, please visit the C.D.C. website.]
23 Responses
Fingers crossed!!!
“Not in my backyard!” Scream the few.
Why does the city allow only a portion of current residents Of the area enact restrictive zoning to the detriment of future residences and renters. This is to protect current property values of owners and will negatively distort the housing market driving prices up and discouraging density and development, driving up prices in the long run.
NIMBY-ism has no place in Atlanta as we look to failed examples in the Bay Area and other cities. We should be up-zoning and incentivizing the development of new housing and density creating more mixed use communities.
Very disappointed in this outcome.
– Renter in Poncey Highlands
So a transient renter feels the need to tell actual (historic) property owners how to plan their
neighborhood for the future. Got it…
If you don’t like it, you can move yourself to one of the many up-zoned, new housing, mixed use
developments anywhere in the city. That’s one of the perks of being a renter.
The historic zoning that’s been proposed for Poncey-Highland is very watered down compared to a neighborhood like Inman Park.
So only current property owners can belong to a neighborhood? Renters are not part of and should be excluded from the community? Got it.
I didn’t say anything like that.
So no, you don’t got it.
“ So a separate homeowner feels the need to tell actual (historic) property owners of the highland inn how to plan their future. Got it…”
If it was “a separate homeowner,” you might have a point.
However it was 259 out of 358 residents that voted for historic designation.
You must’ve gone back for seconds and thirds when Carmichael was passing out the Kool-Aid.
If you owned a building that was falling down under it’s own weight you would most likely not want to see a Historic Group enacted that may not care about your burdened position. This is how people are bankrupt. The building needs to be replaced with a newer, tenant friendly- ada compliant, architecturally pleasing mixed use that allows local businesses to thrive and that allows nice affordable apartments above it!
All of this can still happen while still preserving Poncey-Highland’s character.
If the building is falling down, it should have been condemned a long time ago. There’s still a business running out of it.
There have been much larger & broken down buildings in Atlanta that have been rehabbed.
Why would this property owner allow his building to be “falling down?”
I call BS on that. It’s not the first time that some property owner has let an
historic building fall down…
While I love the Highland Inn and would be sad to see it go… you’re completely right. Long-term we’ve gotta get a handle on NIMBYism, it’s poisoning the real estate market and driving in-affordability.
Historic preservation CAN be done right. This obviously isn’t an example of that… jumping into action to block a development once it’s already on the table. The choice about whether to and how to protect properties should be made in advance and should take account of the very real trade-offs in density and affordability.
The historic zoning process was started way before anybody knew he was going to tear down the Highland Inn– it’s not just now being addressed to block a new development.
Correct. This has been in the works for well over a year.
Have you read the regulations? This is a YIMBY approach. FAR has been substantially increased on Ponce, North Highland and the BeltLine. No one has lost. Many have gained. Property owners and developers in the mixed use subareas can choose between commercial, residential, or a mix of uses depending on demand. Existing affordable housing is preserved. Read the regulations before slamming them!
I’m not sure Carmichael wants to own “existing affordable housing” though.
Even though he conned his tenants into believing that the historic zoning regulation would raise rents.
I live in Inman Park, and our historic regulations are much more stringent than the ones proposed for P-H.
We made it somewhat work. Still a lot of ugly developments on the perimeter of the neighborhood…
With all the brainiac architects and developers here in the city, why couldn’t The Highland Inn be saved and incorporated into a broader and more dense development, similar to that of Portman’s development surrounding the H M Patterson Funeral Home on Spring St? May sound too simplistic, but…
Well there’s not that much open land around the Highland Inn. There is that parking lot beside it though.
I wouldn’t mind a visually appropriate building going in there– but if Carmichael doesn’t own it, he can’t profit from it, which is what it’s all about for him.
The neighborhood should let Carmichael tear down North High Ridge Apartments, and let him put up whatever mixed use, cookie cutter nonsense, that he wants (within reason of course).
And all you tenants paying cheap rent there, can move back in when the rents have doubled, and the retail spaces are vacant.
Carmichael can build whatever he wants in Alpharetta or Smyrna or any number of suburban neighborhoods around Atlanta. Poncey Highlands wants to stay historic with a different vibe than newer neighborhoods. Leave it alone.
Thank you!
Amen.
There is way more to this story than anyone actually knows or wants to know!
This building needs to be replaced.
It is not doing anyone any good.
If allowed, i will say more.. Waiting on approval to comment…
A Chandlee and Sons Build– Coming Soon?