A resident who previously filed a lawsuit in Gwinnett County seeking to stop the vote to create the City of Mulberry has now filed a second lawsuit, this time seeking to cancel the upcoming city council elections for the new municipality in November.
Stephen Hughes had filed a suit in Gwinnett County Superior Court in late April, asking a judge to remove the vote to create the city from the May 21 ballot based on allegations that the city's charter was unconstitutional. His claim was based on the charter not allowing the city to levy additional property taxes against residents.
Judge Miriam Arnold-Johnson ruled in an emergency hearing less than a week before the primary election that the vote could move forward and that any constitutional challenges could be brought back to the court if the residents of the area voted to incorporate the city. They did so days later with over 56% of residents voting in favor of the city's creation.
Hughes has since filed to dismiss that initial lawsuit, but filed a new suit in Gwinnett County Superior Court Friday, June 7. This time, the suit is asking for the court to strike down Senate Bill 333, which proposed the city's charter and placed the item on the May 21 ballot, and to cancel the upcoming city council elections.
"SB 333 is unconstitutional, and SB 333 and the City of Mulberry should be struck down and declared unconstitutional. The unconstitutional defects go to the heart of SB 333, and they cannot be severed without completely defeating the purpose of the law," the lawsuit reads. "SB 333 unconstitutionally removes the City of Mulberry’s ability to impose ad valorem taxes on its residents. This restriction is plainly unconstitutional. The Supreme Court of Georgia has explicitly held that a city’s power to tax is necessary to its ability to carry out its Home Rule powers and can only be regulated by general law."
Michael Coker, the president of Citizens for Mulberry, Inc., a group supporting the city's creation, issued a statement Tuesday afternoon decrying the lawsuit. He also alleged Hughes of being tied to property developers opposed to the city's creation.
“Once again, big money developers just cannot take no for an answer. Now, they are trying to subvert the will of the voters who overwhelmingly voted to approve the City of Mulberry to stop the reckless growth happening in our neighborhoods,” Coker said in Tuesday's statement. "Last month’s election results made it clear; the residents of our community want local control over our planning and zoning. The people of Mulberry have won against developers in court and at the ballot box, and we are confident that we can win against them again."
As of Tuesday afternoon, no hearings have been scheduled in the latest lawsuit.
The city, as currently approved by voters, encompasses most of northeast Gwinnett County, stretching from Hall County and the Town of Braselton southward to nearly the City of Dacula.
