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May 25, 2015 1 Volume 9 1 Issue 10 Zoning Bulletin <br />Subsequently, Southern States quickly requested and received a certificate <br />of zoning compliance from the County. Nevertheless, it failed to do any <br />development of the landfill for nearly two decades. It did file a new permit ap- <br />plication for the landfill in 2004, and it received new certificates of zoning <br />compliance from the County in 2004 and 2012. <br />In May 2013, while Southern States permit application was still pending <br />with the EPD, a group of private property owners—the Riverwood Farm Prop- <br />erty Owners Association, Inc. ("Riverwood Association") sued Southern <br />States and the County, among others. Riverwood Association alleged that the <br />proposed landfill violated County zoning ordinances and should be enjoined. <br />Riverwood Association argued that based on the 1993 zoning ordinance in <br />force at the time the superior court issued its 1994 order (ruling that Southern <br />States had a vested right to operate a landfill), Southern States' vested right <br />lapsed because it failed to commence using the property as a landfill within <br />one year. <br />Section 6.1.4 of the County zoning ordinance, which became effective in <br />September 1993, provided that any intended nonconfoiniing use for which a <br />vested right was acquired prior to the adoption of the ordinance was prohibited <br />unless actually commenced within one year of the adoption of the ordinance. <br />The superior court agreed with Riverwood Association. Finding there were <br />no material issues of fact in dispute and deciding the matter on the law alone, <br />the court issued partial summary judgment in favor of Riverwood Association. <br />The court found that whatever vested right Southern States may have had <br />(under the 1993 zoning ordinance) lapsed when it failed to commence using <br />the property as a landfill within one year. <br />Southern States appealed to the Supreme Court of Georgia, which trans- <br />ferred the case to the Court of Appeals of Georgia. On appeal, among other <br />things, Southern States argued that it complied with § 6.1.4 of the 1993 zoning <br />ordinance by obtaining a zoning -compliance letter from the County within a <br />few months after the 1994 Superior Court order. <br />DECISION: Judgment of superior court vacated, and matter <br />remanded. <br />The Court of Appeals of Georgia held that Southern States' vested rights <br />had lapsed. <br />In so holding, the court disagreed with Southern States' argument that it <br />had complied with the zoning ordinance and "commenced" the nonconform- <br />ing landfill use within one year of the adoption of the zoning ordinance because <br />it had obtained a zoning -compliance letter within that year. Looking at the <br />plain language of the zoning ordinance, the court found that the plain meaning <br />of "commencing" the non -conforming "use" indicated the start of operating <br />an actual landfill on the property and, therefore, "at the very least, involve[d] <br />something more than submitting paperwork." The court found that Southern <br />States failed to do more than submit paperwork, and that it did not actually <br />begin operating a landfill on the property within one year of the 1994 order or <br />even within 10 years. As such, the court affirmed the trial court's finding that <br />Southern States failed to comply with the 1993 zoning ordinance and that its <br />vested right to operate a landfill, therefore, lapsed. <br />6 © 2015 Thomson Reuters <br />