Parking Ass'n of Georgia, Inc. v. City of Atlanta
Headline: Court declines to review Atlanta rule forcing parking lots to add trees and landscaping, leaving the local ordinance in place and property owners without a Supreme Court takings ruling.
Holding: The Court declined to review the Atlanta ordinance case, leaving the Georgia courts’ decision upholding the landscaping requirements in place and denying Supreme Court review of the takings claim.
- Leaves Atlanta ordinance in place and owners responsible for landscaping costs.
- Owners may face about $12,500 per lot in compliance costs.
- Keeps legal uncertainty because lower courts disagree on when special compensation rules apply.
Summary
Background
Parking lot owners challenged an Atlanta City Council ordinance that requires certain surface parking lots to set aside landscaped areas equal to at least 10% of paved area and to plant one tree for every eight parking spaces. The rule covers about 350 lots; owners estimate compliance costs around $12,500 per lot (about $4,375,000 total) and claim lost advertising and contract revenue near $1,636,000. They sued saying the rule is an uncompensated taking under the Fifth Amendment. The state trial court ruled for the city and the Supreme Court of Georgia affirmed.
Reasoning
The central question is whether the landscaping requirement is a taking that requires government compensation. The Georgia court applied a test from Agins that asks whether a regulation advances legitimate government goals and leaves property economically usable. The Georgia court distinguished Dolan, which demands a closer, individualized link between the condition and the development’s impact, on the ground that Atlanta made a legislative determination covering many owners. Lower courts are split about whether Dolan applies to broad legislative rules like this one.
Real world impact
Because the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, the Georgia rulings stand and property owners must comply or pursue state remedies. The decision leaves owners facing the estimated compliance costs and possible lost revenue. The wider legal question about when stricter compensation rules apply remains unresolved among lower courts and could be argued again in other cases.
Dissents or concurrances
Justice Thomas, joined by Justice O’Connor, dissented from the Court’s refusal to review and said the conflict in lower courts and the importance of the takings question justified granting review to resolve the split.
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