A Morgan County judge threw out claims by local landowners that Georgia’s acquisition of a nearly 2,000-acre megasite for a $5B Rivian assembly plant illegally bypassed local zoning codes.

Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Judge Stephen Bradley said Tuesday that local zoning codes don't impact government-owned land, even though the site is ultimately being leased to the upstart electric-vehicle maker that ranks among the state’s biggest economic development wins, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

The ruling stems from a January 2023 lawsuit brought by six people who own property near the planned factory. The plaintiffs accused Georgia of acquiring the Rivian site, known as Stanton Springs North, to avoid local zoning hearings and public scrutiny. Late last month, the state and the Joint Development Authority of Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton Counties sought to dismiss the claims in court, the Morgan County Citizen reported.

“While the Court may be sympathetic to local landowners adversely affected by the Rivian Project, it is compelled to follow existing law. As such, the actions on the Rivian Project property are immune from any Morgan County land use regulation,” Bradley wrote in his ruling, as reported by the AJC.

Perry, Georgia-based attorney John Christy, who represents the landowners, told the newspaper that the plaintiffs are considering filing an appeal within the next 30 days and that the decision threatens to give state and local governments unmitigated power to compel private developments on public lands.

“If the state were to say it was a valid economic use to put a liquor store next to a school, the state could theoretically buy the land and put a liquor store or bar or any other type of business next to a school and just completely (disregard) local zoning ordinances,” Christy told the AJC. “To us, that doesn’t seem to be right.”

The state argued in November that the land fell under sovereign immunity, which prohibits local governments from imposing restrictions on state-owned properties, a concept upheld in past cases.

Rivian declined to comment to the AJC on the ruling but is expected to begin construction on its 16M SF factory this year.

Rivian, which has said it expects to produce 400,000 electric vehicles a year at the plant once up and running, received the state’s largest-ever incentive package last year, which includes more than $700M in local property tax abatements, nearly $200M from Georgia’s job tax credit program and other tax breaks. In exchange for the incentives, Rivian agreed to hire 7,500 people earning at least $56K a year.

The incentive package requires Rivian to complete 80% of its investment in the factory by 2028 and has clawback provisions if Rivian fails to meet those metrics.