City of Alpharetta v. Estate of Sims

In my opinion, denial of the application for a conditional use permit was a gross abuse of the City’s discretion. Therefore, I dissent to the reversal of the trial court’s grant of mandamus in favor of appellees.

The City’s ordinance provides that a conditional use “shall be permitted subject to” certain specified conditions. “Shall” is generally construed as a word of command. State v. Henderson, 263 Ga. 508, 510 (436 SE2d 209) (1993). Thus, if appellees satisfied the conditions enumerated in the ordinance, the City had no discretion to deny their application. Jackson v. Abercrombie, 229 Ga.…