Gwinnett approves new land-buying rules

In the wake of an investigation into questionable land deals, the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners adopted new rules Tuesday for buying land.

Under the rules, the county will report all land acquisitions to a grand jury every three months.

It also will be prohibited from buying land to settle zoning lawsuits, and employees will be required to report any contact with someone advocating a land purchase.

The new rules, which take effect immediately, stem from accusations that commissioners paid too much for land in deals that benefited friends at the expense of taxpayers. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution uncovered the questionable deals in a series of articles after looking at land deals for 2007-2009, and a special grand jury last year confirmed the newspaper’s findings.

Commission Chairwoman Charlotte Nash -- elected in the wake of the scandal -- said it’s difficult to say whether the rules would have prohibited the questionable deals if they had been in place previously. But she said they will be an additional safeguard.

“Certainly our objective is to ensure the land acquisition process is being used to purchase property at the best price,” Nash said.

In 2009, the AJC reported on five land purchases in which Gwinnett relied on appraisals that appeared to be inflated. In each case, county commissioners who advocated for the purchases had ties to developers and others involved in the deals.

Following a 10-month investigation, grand jurors last October confirmed the newspaper’s findings. They concluded the commissioners paid millions of dollars too much for parkland that benefited commissioners’ associates at the expense of taxpayers.

The jury indicted Commissioner Kevin Kenerly on a felony count of bribery and forced the resignation of then-Chairman Charles Bannister. The Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled the jury did not have the power to indict Kenerly. District Attorney Danny Porter has asked the court to reconsider its ruling.

Among other things, the grand jury recommended Gwinnett revamp land-purchasing rules to protect against the abuses spelled out in its report. On Tuesday, commissioners unanimously adopted rules that, among other things, would:

• Prohibit the county from buying land to settle threatened or pending zoning litigation. The AJC found Gwinnett bought several properties to settle lawsuits filed by property owners after the commission failed to grant zoning requests.

• Require employees to report any contact by anyone advocating a land deal -- except a staff member or a quorum of commissioners -- to the county attorney within 24 hours. The attorney, in turn, must notify the county administrator and commissioners.

• Require the county attorney to provide a county grand jury a quarterly report on all land acquisitions.

• Require the county staff to provide detailed information to commissioners on each proposed land purchase, including a 10-year title history of the property and a 10-year history of sales or listing prices.

The new procedures replace an existing policy that Nash said provided little detailed guidance on how Gwinnett should buy land. One measure of the difference: The new seven-page policy replaces one that barely exceeded one page.

Revised land-buying rules have been a top priority for Nash since she was elected in March to replace Bannister. She also hopes to present a revised ethics policy to commissioners by early September.

AJC Results

Beginning in 2009, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported on a series of questionable Gwinnett County land deals. As a result of that investigation:

• A special grand jury spent 10 months investigating Gwinnett land purchases. Jurors concluded county commissioners paid millions of dollars too much for land in deals that benefited associates at the expense of taxpayers.

• The jury indicted then-Commissioner Kevin Kenerly on a felony count of bribery. The Georgia Court of Appeals has ruled the jury did not have the power to indict Kenerly. District Attorney Danny Porter has asked the court to reconsider its ruling.

• Commission Chairman Charles Bannister resigned rather than face a perjury charge from the grand jury.

• Gwinnett commissioners Tuesday approved new land-acquisition rules.