Business & Tech

UPDATED: Judge Gives Go-Ahead on Wal-Mart Suburban Plaza Project

The long battle over the development of Suburban Plaza has hit the latest milestone: A superior court judge in DeKalb County ruled Oct. 31 Selig Enterprises' planned project can go ahead.

The redevelopment plan for Suburban Plaza, which includes bringing a Walmart Supercenter is to proceed as originally planned.

Suburban Plaza, an old development, is just outside the Decatur city limits at Church Street, North Decatur Road and Scott Boulevard.

A local neighborhood group, Good Growth DeKalb, filed suit arguing the county erred in granting a permit to Selig Enterprises to build the Walmart.

Judge Tangela Barrie disagreed and ruled against the plaintiffs.

"We are currently discussing the order with our legal team and considering all of our legal options, Louise Runyon, Good Growth DeKalb's co-chairwoman wrote in an e-mail to Decatur-Avondale Estates Patch. "We will let you know when we know more."

In a statement, Scott Selig, vice president of acquisitions and development at the company, said the company is pleased with the ruling:

Yesterday, a DeKalb County Superior Court judge ruled that Good Growth DeKalb does not have standing to appeal DeKalb County’s decision to issue Selig a building permit to construct a Walmart at Suburban Plaza.  Good Growth DeKalb had claimed that it had standing to appeal DeKalb County’s issuance of Walmart’s building permit.  The Court disagreed.  As a result, the building permit is valid and the project is now cleared to move forward.Good Growth DeKalb filed an internal DeKalb County administrative appeal in January, contending that the County issued the building permit for the Walmart Supercenter in error. Their appeal was addressed to the Technical Board of Appeals. However, because the appeal challenged issues such as trees and hydrology that fell under the jurisdiction of the Zoning Board of Appeals, the County assigned the appeal to the Zoning Board of Appeals.  In its lawsuit, Good Growth DeKalb contended that the Zoning Board of Appeals did not have authority to hear the matter.  In an eleven-page ruling, Judge Barrie rejected Good Growth DeKalb’s claims and declared that it did not have standing under the County ordinances to file the appeal.  Selig is pleased with the outcome and believes the Judge came to the correct conclusion given the law and the facts in the case.  Selig would like to thank Dekalb County Attorneys, Duane Pritchett and John Jones, for doing such an excellent job in defending the County’s issuance of the permit and in responding to Good Growth DeKalb’s claims.
Further, Selig is excited about the continued tenant interest in the project - including LA Fitness (which will include a daycare facility), HomeGoodsJo-Ann Fabric and Craft Stores, and Ross Dress for Less.  We hope to be under construction by the end of the year.As always, we thank you for your continued involvement and support in this project and we will continue to update the community as we progress.


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