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Unified Gov't of Athens-Clarke County v. Watson

Evidence that the condemned property was previously zoned for multi-family use, in addition to expert evidence that the property would probably be rezoned for that use, satisfied the standard set forth in Civil v. Fulton County, 108 Ga. App. 493 1963.

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The Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County instituted special master condemnation proceedings to acquire approximately 50 acres of land owned by appellee Billy Watson, which was zoned for single family development. The special master awarded Watson $479,940 as the actual market value of the property. Both parties appealed the award to the superior court. At trial, Watson presented evidence that the property previously had been zoned for multi-family residential use and expert testimony that there was a probability that the property would be rezoned for multi-family residential use. The jury awarded Watson $2,775,000 as just and adequate compensation for the taking of the property. The Court of Appeals affirmed, finding no error in the admission of the experts’ testimony under the standard set forth in Civils v. Fulton County, 108 Ga. App. 793 134 SE2d 453 1963. See Unified Government of Athens-Clarke County v. Watson, 255 Ga. App. 1 564 SE2d 453 2002. We granted the Unified Government’s petition for certiorari to determine whether the evidence as recited by the Court of Appeals improperly implied that evidence of highest and best use, standing alone, satisfies the Civils standard. For the reasons that follow, we affirm.

The standard to be applied in determining the admissibility of evidence of a probable change in zoning is well-established:

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