Residents near the future $5 billion Rivian electric vehicle plant woutheast of Atlanta sued Friday to try to stop grading work on the property, alleging the site isn’t properly zoned and that local officials are turning a blind eye.
Five Georgians sued the Joint Development Authority (JDA) of Jasper, Morgan, Newton and Walton Counties and the company it hired to begin grading the 2,000-acre factory site.
The lawsuit claims the parcels were never rezoned from agricultural use to industrial, but should have been, and that the JDA did not obtain the proper county land disturbance permits. The lawsuit also names all five members of the Morgan County Board of Commissioners and the county’s planning director as defendants, claiming they are not enforcing local codes.
The JDA and a board of commissioners representative declined to comment. Plateau Excavation, the firm hired to grade the Rivian site, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.