Court of Appeals

of the State of Georgia

ATLANTA,____________________

The Court of Appeals hereby passes the following order:

A22D0408. BULLDOG FLIP FLOP HOUSE, LLC v. THE UNIFIED

GOVERNMENT OF ATHENS-CLARKE COUNTY.

Seeking to make changes to a house it owns in a historic district, Bulldog Flip

Flop House, LLC (“Bulldog”), applied to the Athens-Clarke County Historic

Preservation Commission (“HPC”) for a certificate of appropriateness. The HPC

conducted a public hearing to consider Bulldog’s application, at which Bulldog

presented its proposed design and also raised objections to the constitutionality of 

the Athens-Clarke County ordinances governing historic preservation and

applications for certificates of appropriateness.

1 After the hearing, the HPC denied

the application. Bulldog appealed the decision to the Mayor and Commission of

Athens-Clarke County, which upheld the decision. Bulldog then filed a petition for

writ of certiorari, writ of mandamus and declaratory judgment in superior court,

contending inter alia that Athens-Clarke County Ordinances §§ 8-5-5 (d) (1) and (2),

adopted pursuant to the Georgia Historic Preservation Act (OCGA § 44-10-20 et

seq.), are unconstitutional. The superior court denied the writ of certiorari, expressly

rejecting Bulldog’s challenge to the constitutionality of the ordinances, finding that

the ordinances are constitutional and were applied appropriately. Bulldog filed this

application for discretionary appeal from that ruling, seeking to appeal the court’s

1 See Athens-Clarke County Ordinances Sec. 8-5-1 et seq. (“Historic

Preservation”).

June 23, 2022
finding that the ordinances are constitutional.

2

The Supreme Court of Georgia “has exclusive jurisdiction over all cases

involving construction of the Constitution of the State of Georgia and of the United

States and all cases in which the constitutionality of a law, ordinance, or

constitutional provision has been called into question.” Atlanta Independent School

System v. Lane, 266 Ga. 657, 657 (1) (469 SE2d 22) (1996) (citing Ga. Const. of

1983, Art. VI, Sec. VI, Par. II (1)). Because the superior court rejected Bulldog’s

challenge to the constitutionality of the ordinances, it appears that jurisdiction over

this application may lie in the Supreme Court. As the Supreme Court hasthe ultimate

responsibility for determining appellate jurisdiction, see Saxton v. Coastal Dialysis

& Med. Clinic, 267 Ga. 177, 178 (476 SE2d 587) (1996), this application is hereby

TRANSFERRED to the Supreme Court for disposition. See In the Interest of T. B.,

Case No. S21A1120 (Nov. 1, 2021) (noting that the Court of Appeals lacked

jurisdiction to decide application because the Supreme Court has exclusive appellate

jurisdiction over novel constitutional questions). 

Court of Appeals of the State of Georgia

Clerk’s Office, Atlanta,____________________

I certify that the above is a true extract from

the minutes of the Court of Appeals of Georgia.

Witness my signature and the seal of said court

hereto affixed the day and year last above written.

, Clerk.

2 The superior court found the petition for mandamus relief and declaratory

judgment inappropriate in this case, and thus considered only the petition for writ of

certiorari. 

06/23/2022