A Gwinnett County judge dismissed today an attempt by Peachtree Corners residents to block the sale of one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land along the Chattahoochee River in Metro Atlanta.
The land, called Simpsonwood, is the property of the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church. The church says it’s losing money on the 227-acre property and wants to sell it. The church is currently in talks to sell part of the land to Gwinnett County to be used as a park.
Earlier this year, 11 people living near Simpsonwood went to court seeking to block any sale of the property.
Magistrate Mark Lewis dismissed their case today. But he left in place a temporary order that effectively blocks the property’s sale to give the neighbors a chance to appeal.
Lewis said the case is about property rights, not development.
“This is private people deciding what they want to do with their property,” he said.
Jim Erdy, one of the people trying to block the sale, said he and his neighbors had not yet decided whether to appeal the order.
If the Simpsonwood neighbors appeal the judge’s ruling, it could further delay any sale of the land.
If they don’t, the order that effectively blocks the sale of the land will be lifted and negotiations to sell the land will likely continue.
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