Landowner's Response to Development Failure: Call in the Klan

Bill Torpy explains the circumstances behind a development controversy in the city of Milton in north Fulton County, outside of Atlanta::

Ten years ago, a group of investors bought the rolling 24-acre lot and were set to build 15 luxury homes. But the Fulton County board of zoning appeals turned down construction of a road to provide access to the property. The 50-foot frontage along Owens Lake Road was not wide enough to cut a road. A judge later agreed.

The owners put chickens on the property to tweak the neighbors, but the Great Recession hit and the bank got the land. Enter Hay, who, according to records, bought the property for $900,000, or $37,500 an acre, a relative bargain. Chicken coops in Milton go for more than that. Hay got the land cheap, city officials say, because it is understood you can’t build a bunch of homes on it.

Though the land has since become part of the city of Milton, Hay has also failed to gain approval for plans to build residential parcels on the property. But, explains Torpy, Hay has gone beyond chickens and has taken to flying the Loyal White Knights of the KKK.