Appeal documents filed in Griffith Street Hotel case

The ongoing saga of the Griffith Street Hotel project crept another step forward this week with the Plaintiffs against the project filing their Appellee brief in the appeal that is currently underway at the NC Court of Appeals in Raleigh.  The developer Defendants filed their Appellant brief last month.

It should be noted, the Defendants behind the appeal do not include the Town of Davidson.  After the Plaintiffs won a decision in Mecklenburg Superior Court earlier this year based on the Town admitting it did not follow its own Davidson Planning Ordinance, this appeal is being driven by the developer Defendants in the case.

In the briefs filed by the parties, the Defendants-Appelants' attorney argues that the lower court erred in its decision and that the Town not strictly following the DPO doesn't matter.  The Plaintiffs-Appellees attorney argues that strictly following municipal zoning procedures has already need decided by the Court and that should be the case here.

Ultimately, this decision will boil down to the answer to this question.

Do planning ordinances need to say what they mean and mean what they say, or can they be interpreted at the whims of municipal planning departments and the attorneys involved in development?

Whether or not the Griffith Street Hotel project has a chance to move forward hinges on the answer.

Readers can find all the documents for the case here at www.ncappellatecourts.org.  No date has been set at this point for further action on the case.