Southland Development Corporation, Bryant Properties, Inc., and L & B Properties, Inc. collectively, “Southland”, appeal an interlocutory injunction granted to Lura Battle and six other homeowners in The Southland subdivision in DeKalb County. The injunction prohibits Southland from building any town homes or condominiums in the subdivision pending final adjudication of appellees’ petition for declaratory and injunctive relief. Because there is evidence at this stage of the litigation to support the trial court’s ruling that the subdivision’s Declaration of Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions “the Covenants” preclude the development of attached dwellings, we affirm. The relevant facts follow. The subdivision is a master planned residential community in Stone Mountain with a swim and tennis club and a golf club. It is comprised of approximately 900 single-family detached homes. The property’s zoning allows attached housing. In November 2003, Southland obtained the appropriate permits to build condominiums on 1.8 acres of land in the subdivision. Southland planned to erect three buildings comprised of 19 two-story units. Appellees objected, but Southland continued to grade the land in preparation for construction.
Appellees then filed a complaint alleging that the construction of condominiums violated the Covenants. Appellees prayed for declaratory and injunctive relief, as well as for attorney fees, and filed a motion for a temporary restraining order TRO. In their brief, appellees cited various provisions in the Covenants. Paragraph 2.01 restricts “all Lots within the Residential Development . . . exclusively to single-family residential use.” “Lot,” in turn, is defined in relevant part as “any unimproved portion of the Property upon which it is intended that a Dwelling shall be constructed.” “Dwelling” is defined as “any improved property intended for use as a single-family detached dwelling or as a patio or cluster home, located within the Residential Development.” Finally, “Residential Development” means “only that portion of the Property which is subdivided into Lots designed for the construction thereon of Dwellings.” Based on the definition of dwelling as a single-family detached home, a patio home, or a cluster home, appellees contended that the Covenants forbid the construction of town homes and condominiums.
