The issue in this appeal is whether, because of an alleged procedural flaw in the 1988 enactment of Meriwether County’s zoning ordinance, the County must permit Mid-Georgia Environmental Management Group, L.L.L.P., to build a solid waste landfill on land not zoned for a landfill. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court concluded that the County’s zoning ordinance was properly enacted and that the County was entitled to rely on the plain language of the ordinance in refusing to allow the building of the landfill. Because the record supports the trial court’s conclusion regarding the validity of the ordinance’s enactment, we affirm. Mid-Georgia is a limited liability limited partnership formed for the purpose of trying to build a landfill in Meriwether County. In December 1999, Mid-Georgia acquired a contract to purchase approximately 400 acres of undeveloped land in Meriwether County. In January 2000, Mid-Georgia first notified the County of its intentions to build a landfill on 240 of those acres and, pursuant to OCGA § 12-8-24 g, requested written verification that the proposed use complied with the County’s zoning ordinance and solid waste management plan.1 Mid-Georgia’s letter stated that it recognized that the request “is likely to be unexpected and that it proposes a use for this site which may not be in your current plans for the area.” Nevertheless, Mid-Georgia stated its position that the County’s zoning ordinance had not been validly adopted and therefore the County’s only option was to issue the verification letter. The County responded that it had a zoning ordinance that was validly enacted in 1988 and that the land at issue was not properly zoned for a landfill. Mid-Georgia then filed an action in June 2000 against the County, its zoning administrator, and the members of the County Board of Commissioners seeking a declaratory judgment that the County’s zoning ordinance was not validly enacted and the proposed landfill did not conflict with the Multi-Jurisdictional Solid Waste Plan. Mid-Georgia also sought a writ of mandamus requiring the County to issue the verification letter. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court concluded that the County’s zoning ordinance had been validly enacted, that the property at issue was not properly zoned for a landfill, and that Mid-Georgia had not demonstrated that its proposed landfill was consistent with the Multi-Jurisdictional Solid Waste Plan. Accordingly, the trial court entered judgment against Mid-Georgia on the declaratory judgment action and denied the writ of mandamus.
1. Before addressing the merits of the case, we first clarify a jurisdictional issue.2 Following the trial court’s ruling, Mid-Georgia filed with the Georgia Court of Appeals an application for discretionary appeal under OCGA § 5-6-35 and also filed a notice of direct appeal to this Court. The Court of Appeals correctly transferred the application to this Court because cases involving the grant or denial of mandamus are within the exclusive jurisdiction of this Court without regard to the underlying subject matter or the legal issues raised.3
