Battle over Forsyth County townhomes moves to Georgia Supreme Court Monday

A court battle over a townhome development in Cumming will be heard Monday by the Georgia Supreme Court.
 
Kerley Family Homes, LLC built the townhomes in the Villages of Castleberry subdivision, but they were in violation of the city's code when it comes to "setback," which is the distance between a building and the property line.
 
The company filed for a variance, a motion opposed by the Castleberry homeowner's association, along with other residents affected by the development; one resident complained the townhomes were so close that the windows looked straight down into other people's homes and yards.
 
The Cumming Planning Commission denied the request, at which point Kerley appealed to the city's Board of Zoning Appeals.
 
On April 21, 2015, the mayor and city council, which was sitting as the appeals board, approved the variance; homeowners said that, around that time, a lawyer for the builder was elected to the council.
 
The homeowner's association filed a lawsuit in Forsyth County Superior Court, which the mayor and council subsequently tried to have thrown out, arguing the homeowners had not followed proper court procedure.
 
Homeowners argue that they filed the appeal in superior court, which the city's statutes lists as the only means of appealing the city's zoning ordinance.