The Georgia Attorney General’s Office concurred with the city of Atlanta in a new federal court filing, calling the referendum effort aimed at reversing the lease for a planned public safety training center “invalid” under Georgia law.
“Plaintiff’s claims are likely moot because the ballot initiative is entirely invalid under Georgia law,” the filing says. “The Georgia Supreme Court has held that, as it relates to cities (as opposed to counties), ballot referendum petitions are `available only for proposed amendments to the city charter’ and not to resolutions or ordinances not impacting the charter itself.”
The referendum aims to repeal a 2021 city ordinance that authorized the ground lease of 381 acres of forested land to the Atlanta Police Foundation for the construction of a $90 million public safety training facility. The ordinance authorized then-Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to execute a lease of the property to the Atlanta Police Foundation, which was completed on Oct. 12, 2021. The foundation started construction shortly thereafter.
