Developer challenges Georgia county truck stop ban in federal appeals court

Local governments deny proposed truck stops all the time, but one developer is not taking “no” for an answer – instead taking his case to the federal court of appeals.

William Corey, the owner of 35 acres of land off Interstate 20 in Rockdale County, Ga., has been trying to build a travel center on his property for 25 years. However, a series of county ordinances have essentially banned truck stops. Rather than abandon plans for a travel plaza, Corey has challenged the ordinances in several courts, claiming they violate a federal law guaranteeing truckers reasonable access to “facilities for food, fuel, repairs and rest.”

Problems for Corey began in 1999, when he was told by Rockdale County officials that a truck stop was not permitted on his property, which is under C-2 zoning. Although a convenience store with fuel sales was allowed, a “truck stop” was not on the list of permitted uses.

Corey proposed an amendment to the zoning ordinance. The county Board of Commissioners then passed an ordinance allowing truck stops only in M-2 zoning districts. According to court documents filed by Corey, M-2 districts are in sparsely developed areas away from major thoroughfares. He reasoned the new zoning ordinance made it unfeasible for a truck stop to be built in the county. Consequently, Corey claimed he suffered a financial loss due to the ordinance after he had to sever an agreement with Petro Inc.

In 2004, Corey paid Rockdale County $140,000 for sewer capacity to develop the property to its “highest and best use.” The plan was to build a convenience store that sold fuel to passenger vehicles and heavy trucks, a use that was allowed under C-2 zoning ordinances.

However, the Rockdale County Board of Commissioners passed an ordinance in 2006 that placed a ban on truck stops.

The new ordinance states: “Truck stops are prohibited. Furthermore, no adjoining or adjacent uses shall be physically connected or used so as to effectively create a truck stop.” The definition of a truck stop includes:

• Maintenance, servicing, storage or repair of heavy trucks
• Dispensing of motor fuel or other petroleum products primarily for such heavy trucks
• Sale of accessories or equipment for heavy trucks
• Overnight accommodations, showers, overnight customer parking or restaurant facilities for the use of crews of heavy trucks

The 2006 ordinance set Corey back for many years, but he never let go of his plan to develop a travel center off I-20 in Conyers, Ga., which is about 20 miles east of Atlanta. In January 2018, he entered into an agreement with QuikTrip to build a travel plaza on about 7 acres. This time, the plans called for a convenience store, fuel pumps for passenger vehicles and heavy trucks and truck scales. Only 10 truck parking spaces were included, which were for short-term parking only.

Despite seemingly meeting all of the zoning requirements, Rockdale County informed Corey that the planned facility still was considered a truck stop due to the truck scales.

Corey proposed a zoning amendment that would accommodate the plans. Despite the Rockdale County Planning Commission recommending that the Board of Commissioners approve the amendment, the board unanimously decided to reject it. Consequently, the county rejected a 2019 permit application for the QuikTrip plan.

Undeterred, Corey filed an appeal to the Board of Adjustment, which was denied. He subsequently filed a lawsuit in a Rockdale County superior court. In September 2020, the superior court found the county’s definition of a truck stop was “impermissibly vague and uncertain.” That ruling was challenged by the county in the Georgia Supreme Court. The high court reversed the ruling, remanding the case back to the superior court, which ultimately decided that the QuikTrip plan was for a truck stop. Corey fought that final ruling in both the state court of appeals and Supreme Court but lost.

Before the Georgia Supreme Court even ruled on the case, Rockdale County passed another truck stop ordinance in June 2021. In the latest amendment, the definition of a truck stop was expanded to include any truck parking and weight scales, among other restrictive language.

Local truck stop ban vs. federal law

In September 2022, Corey filed a federal lawsuit in Georgia. He argued that Rockdale County’s truck stop ban violates the Surface Transportation Assistance Act.

This act prohibits laws denying commercial vehicles reasonable access between the interstates and facilities for food, fuel, repairs and rest. Exceptions are carved out for state and local laws based on safety considerations. When defining “reasonable access,” federal law states no state law should deny access within 1 mile of the interstate. Corey’s property is within 1,000 feet of I-20.

The federal lawsuit argues that the heavy truck prohibition has not been based on a specific safety reason. Corey has claimed that the proposed travel plaza will increase safety.

The lawsuit points out there are no rest areas for truckers in Rockdale or Newton counties. Truckers have to travel off the interstate for restroom facilities and food at convenience stores not equipped to handle truck traffic.

“Development of the QuikTrip project on the property will alleviate traffic and safety problems on county and city roads by allowing heavy trucks engaged in interstate commerce not to utilize the local roads to seek fuel, food and rest,” the complaint states.

Additionally, Corey has claimed there is no economically viable use of the property except for a convenience store serving both passenger vehicles and heavy trucks. In 2009, he attempted to get Cancer Centers of America to locate there, but to no avail. A 2014 land purchase option to build a shopping center and grocery store fell through due to the limited population density in the area.

Corey has claimed ordinances that prohibit servicing heavy trucks is considered “a taking” by the county – a violation of the 5th and 14th Amendments of the U.S. Constitution, which guarantee due process.

Last August, a Georgia federal district court judge dismissed the case in favor of Rockdale County. The court ruled that the Surface Transportation Assistance Act does not create a private right of action against a state or local government (i.e. does not allow a private individual to file a lawsuit). Rather, enforcement of the act is designated to the secretary of transportation. Once the secretary decides a law violates the act, the attorney general can bring civil action.

“If every private plaintiff who owns a stretch of land purportedly within the (Surface Transportation Assistance Act’s) purview could individually adjudicate ‘reasonable access,’ courts would inevitably create a patchwork of legality,” the district court ruled. “That is precisely what the statute intends to avoid by giving exclusive enforcement power to the secretary of transportation.”

Regarding the claims pertaining to undue process, the district court ruled that they are barred by a two-year statute of limitations. Although Corey has argued the clock started after state court proceedings in 2021, the federal court ruled it started no later than 2019, when the permit was denied.

Corey is challenging the district court’s ruling in the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is currently underway. LL

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