NEWTON COUNTY — The Georgia Supreme Court has dismissed a case against Newton County that sought to overturn a zoning decision that halted a 158-acre multi-use development in eastern Newton County.

The Supreme Court ruling, issued earlier this week, found that plaintiffs Sockwell Corners, Ed Hutter and Integral Enterprises LLC did not correctly file the complaint. Under Georgia law, certain types of Superior Court rulings require an application for appeal that must be filed with the Supreme Court or the Georgia Court of Appeals within 30 days of the lower court’s decision. The Sockwell Corners case was filed directly with the Supreme Court.

A Newton County Superior Court judge ruled against the developers in August 2025 after they sued the county over the rezoning of a high-density residential development off U.S. Highway 278 at Ga. Highway 142.

Judge Chevada McCamy issued the order Aug. 7, 2025, finding that the plaintiffs had failed to prove that the current AR (Agricultural Residential) zoning is unconstitutional.

The plaintiffs had filed for a declaratory judgement in August 2024 seeking to overturn the county’s refusal to rezone the land from AR to Community Oriented Residential District (CORD). The Board of Commissioners had voted unanimously in July 2024 to deny the rezoning request.

The current AR zoning requires a minimum 2-acre lot for residential development, while the CORD zoning allows for higher-density development. The plaintiffs argued that the current zoning makes the property not feasible for development and unmarketable.

Judge McCamy found in favor of the county on five counts argued by the plaintiffs. McCamy wrote that the plaintiffs would have to show that the current zoning ordinance would cause them to suffer a significant detriment and that the existing zoning “bears an insubstantial relationship to the public interest.”

McCamy noted that “Georgia courts have held that evidence that the property will be more valuable if rezoned ‘borders on being irrelevant.’”

As proposed to commissioners in 2024, the Sockwell Corners development included 294 single-family homes, 146 townhomes, five “flex units” that would encompass 180 condos suitable for residences or offices, and 35,000 square feet of commercial space.

The developer proposed an average density of 4.9 units per acre for single-family homes and 11.85 per acre for townhomes. The project design called for 55 acres to remain undeveloped greenspace and included three small greenspace areas; a large recreational area with a pool, clubhouse, tennis courts, and a soccer field; and a trail head for community-wide use.