These related appeals concern the rights of certain sign companies to construct billboards in areas formerly located in unincorporated Fulton County that are now located in the recently created cities of Sandy Springs, Milton, and Johns Creek and a recently annexed portion of the city of Alpharetta the “cities”. Action Outdoor Advertising JV, LLC, Boardworks Outdoor Advertising Company, Inc., Granite State Outdoor Advertising, Inc., KH Outdoor Advertising, Inc., and Steven Galberaith and Larry Roberts, collectively the “sign companies” are companies and owners and principals of companies which lease and construct billboards for displaying commercial and noncommercial messages. Between May 2003 and November 2006, the sign companies submitted complete applications to Fulton County for permits to construct billboards at different locations within unincorporated areas of the county. Fulton County denied the applications or refused to act on them as prohibited under provisions of the county sign ordinance. The sign companies subsequently sued Fulton County over the denial of their permits contending the sign ordinance was unconstitutional.
While the sign companies’ consolidated suits were pending, this Court determined in a separate appeal that the Fulton County sign ordinance was unconstitutional under the First Amendment to the United States Constitution. Fulton County v. Galberaith , 282 Ga. 314 647 SE2d 24 2007. After Galberaith issued, the trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the sign companies, finding they had a vested right to erect their billboards and ordered that they be allowed to erect the billboards instanter. Fulton County filed an application to appeal the trial court’s order which this Court granted and docketed as case number S11A0023. By the time we rendered our decision in Galberaith , however, the cities of Sandy Springs, Milton, and Johns Creek had been formed and new land annexed into the city of Alpharetta. Thus, Fulton County claimed it no longer had jurisdiction to issue permits to the sign companies for sites now located within the cities and the cities questioned their obligation to permit for the erection of the billboards. This prompted the sign companies to file a new action against the cities seeking mandamus and other relief. The trial court in that case granted summary judgment in favor of the sign companies based on its determination that the companies had a vested right to erect the billboards as of the date their applications were filed. The cities filed an application to appeal in this Court, which was granted and docketed as case number S11A0101. Because we find the sign companies have vested rights to construct the billboards at issue, we affirm the trial courts’ grant of summary judgment in favor of the sign companies in both cases.
