After having won their case in Superior Court with a court order from Judge W. Robert Bell on motions heard back in May, the plaintiffs (residents) in the Griffith Street Hotel lawsuit are now facing an appeal of that decision. The appeal is being brought by the developer and landowner defendants. Interestingly, the Town of Davidson, itself a defendant, is not officially part of the appeal. aShortChronicle broke that news here last month.
While appeals based on legal minutiae are a standard part of the legal process, there is also a common sense way to view this situation.
Davidson residents impacted by this out of place development have successfully won a judgment that voided the rezoning allowing the project, a judgment handed down by the Senior Resident Superior Court Judge, W. Robert Bell. Judge Bell has served Mecklenburg County for over 20 years. As one of the defendants, the Town of Davidson admitted to not following proper procedure in not just one, but two separate instances during the rezoning. In spite of all this, the other defendants, the developer and the landowner, are appealing in hopes they can...effectively...get away with it somehow.
This is no way for citizens to have to live in this town, but that's the situation these residents now face. They have won a fight they never should have had to fight, and now they have to fight an appeal on things
the Town admitted it did wrong.
With that as the backdrop comes word the plaintiffs have launched a $10,000 fundraising effort over the next few weeks to fund this next phase. Notice of this effort came in an email from the lead plaintiff, Luke Charde, on Monday. While straight donations in any amount are appreciated, the plaintiffs are also offering an option for those willing and able to donate more sizable sums - a loan.
According to the email from Charde, a fund has been set up to accept loans to be repaid contingent on residents successfully defending Judge Bell's decision and the Town of Davidson being ordered by the Court to pay attorney's fees. In this case, because the Town admitted fault on procedural errors, the Town very well may be required to pay these fees. In the email from Charde, himself a former judge from New York, he states the following:
"The NC statute, on citizen suits against a municipality, provides that, if the municipality loses, the court MAY impose attorney fees against the municipality; but the statute then goes on to say, that if the municipality lost because it committed an "abuse of discretion" then the Court MUST award attorney fees against the municipality. That's precisely where we are. The Town lost because , in processing the development application, The Town failed to follow not one but TWO, distinct, separate, and unrelated provisions of the Town of Davidson Zoning Ordinance. "
The loans made to this fund will be first in line for repayment if and when the Town is forced to pay the plaintiffs' attorney's fees. It is requested the loans be for a minimum of $500.
$10,000 may seem like a lot of money to raise, but as the saying goes - "many hands make light work".
Please be generous and make a donation or consider making a loan if you are able. A GoFundMe has been set up to help collect funds.
Defend the win on Griffith Street Hotel
Checks can be mailed to:
Luke Charde, Special Account
PO Box 785
Davidson, NC 28036.
If you are interested in making a loan to the fund, a copy of the loan agreement can be found here. These can be mailed to the same PO Box.
This fight has already been a long one, and it seems it will go on a little longer. However, if the community comes together to help these residents they will at least have the resources to see it through.
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