An attorney who’s filed lawsuits in Cobb Superior Court to stop May referendums to create cities in Vinings and Lost Mountain said it’s “inevitable” a similar lawsuit will be filed to prevent a referendum next month in East Cobb.
But Allen Lightcap, an Atlanta lawyer, told East Cobb News Thursday that he’s not involved in a potential East Cobb lawsuit.
“There will be a suit,” he said, “but I’m not part of it.”
Lightcap said he doesn’t know which parties may be approached about serving as plaintiffs in an East Cobb lawsuit, but anticipates that one will be filed soon.
That’s because it’s a little more than six weeks before May 24 referendums in Vinings, Lost Mountain and East Cobb.
Last week, Lightcap filed suit to stop the Vinings referendum (you can read it here) on behalf of Joseph Young, a Vinings resident who was a legislative director to former Gov. Roy Barnes.
On Wednesday, Lightcap’s suit (you can read it here) names Dora Locklear, the head of West Cobb Advocate, a group fighting Lost Mountain Cityhood, as a plaintiff.
Both suits were filed against the Cobb Board of Elections in order to stop the referendums due to what Lightcap calls unconstitutional language.
State law requires cities to provide three services, and under home rule provisions they can choose from a list of 14 services.
The Vinings, Lost Mountain and East Cobb bills passed by the legislature this session and signed into law by Gov. Brian Kemp specify in their proposed charters which services those cities would be providing.
Under the Georgia Constitution, that cannot be done via local legislation, according to the two lawsuits, which have been assigned to Cobb Superior Court Chief Judge Robert Leonard.
No hearings have been scheduled for either lawsuit, according to court records.
The Vinings bill includes a charter saying that city “shall” provide specific services: planning and zoning, code enforcement and parks and recreation.
The same language is included in the bill for Lost Mountain, which would provide planning and zoning, code enforcement and sanitation services.
The proposed East Cobb charter calls for planning and zoning, code enforcement, police, fire and parks and recreation services.
As we noted last week, here’s the provision of the East Cobb bill (you can read it here) that specifies which services the city “shall” provide, in lines 157-161:
“Except as provided in subsection (c) of this section, the city shall exercise the powers enumerated in subsection (a) of this section only for the purposes of planning and zoning, code adoption and enforcement, parks and recreation, police and law enforcement services, fire and emergency services, and those items directly related to the provision of such services and for the general administration of the city in providing such services.”
A fourth cityhood referendum in Cobb, in Mableton, is expected to take place in November, but that legislation doesn’t contain the same language about specific provision of services.
The Committee for East Cobb Cityhood blasted the Vinings lawsuit last week, saying it’s “a flagrant attempt to legislate from the bench.”
East Cobb News has left a message with the East Cobb Alliance, the main group opposing Cityhood, for comment on possible litigation.
Earlier this week the East Cobb Cityhood group sent a letter to Cobb officials demanding that they stop holding town hall meetings and making public comments about the cityhood referendums, saying their violating state law by advocating against them.
But a county spokesman said they will continue, including a town hall next week in Vinings, and that Cobb officials are providing objective information for citizens who’ve been asking.
Representatives from the East Cobb Cityhood Committee and the East Cobb Alliance will be debating the referendum twice in coming weeks, including a Tuesday forum sponsored by the East Cobb Business Association at Olde Towne Athletic Club.
That event is sold out for in-person attendance, as is a May 4 debate by the Rotary Club of East Cobb at Pope High School, but both will be either livestreamed or recorded.
Related:
- East Cobb Cityhood group accuses county of campaigning against referendums
- East Cobb Cityhood group slams Vinings referendum lawsuit
- Anti-Cityhood sign to be removed from shopping center
- County officials take Cityhood town halls to East Cobb
- ECBA, Rotary Club to hold cityhood debates
- GOP special election candidate opposes cityhood
- East Cobb News Cityhood information page
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