Stonecrest permitting delay has cost recycler $35M, lawsuit says

“Sadly, the city’s actions have not only damaged Metro Green but also have been very detrimental to the city’s own residents,” Richard Robbins, one of the attorneys for Metro Green, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He says the factory will provide an “environmentally important” recycling service, hire local employees and boost the area’s property tax base.

Metro Green’s lawsuit names Stonecrest Mayor Jazzmin Cobble and each individual member of the City Council, both in their official and personal capacities.

The city declined to comment on pending litigation.

Credit: Citizens for a Healthy and Safe Environment

Credit: Citizens for a Healthy and Safe Environment

The genesis for the legal battle was a May 2018 letter written by Stonecrest’s first mayor, Jason Lary, who is now in federal prison after pleading guilty to defrauding COVID-19 relief programs. Lary wrote a letter to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division endorsing Metro Green’s planned recycling center.

Michael Harris, Stonecrest’s city manager at the time, wrote a subsequent letter saying that Metro Green’s plans complied with the city’s zoning laws and the county’s solid waste plan, which DeKalb leaders contest.

By October 2019, the EPD issued Metro Green a solid waste handling permit, allowing it to take in unsorted construction debris for processing and recycling. Activists and residents said the activity kicks up dust and creates noise, which is unbearable to its neighbors. Metro Green’s legal team denies this.

Amid the controversy, Lary withdrew his support of the project, and in August 2020, Stonecrest filed a temporary restraining order against Metro Green to try to stop construction. An activist group, Citizens for a Healthy and Safe Environment, joined the legal fight.

A local judge sided with community activists and the city in 2022, temporarily barring Metro Green from conducting any work. But an appeals court panel reversed that ruling the following year, ruling that state regulators have the final say on issuing permits and the city did not follow the proper channels to revoke its support, rushing into court prematurely.

After the appeals court panel ruling, Cobble told the AJC, “We are satisfied that the city’s legal position is correct and remain confident that we will ultimately prevail in this fight for the safety and security of our community.”

But appeals by the city and activists to the bring the case before the Georgia Supreme Court were unsuccessful.

Metro Green’s latest lawsuit argues the controversy has run its course and the company should be granted certificates of occupancy and a renewed business license to operate the completed plant, both of which were recently denied by the city.

“For five years now, the city has taken every action possible to render Metro Green’s property unusable in violation of Metro Green’s constitutional rights,” the complaint says. “Metro Green has suffered millions of dollars in damages and years of frustration due to the patently unconstitutional actions of the city.”

Metro Green says it invested $20 million to build the facility — its third in metro Atlanta — and has lost an additional $15 million through carrying costs and lost profits. It asks for a jury to award at least $35 million in addition to punitive damages and attorneys fees.

“We maintain hope the city will work with our client rather than continue its actions,” Robbins said.