MARIETTA, Ga. — A fight over the height of a building is pitting a Marietta councilman against the rest of his council.
Tuesday night, the Marietta City Council approved a first-of-its-kind committee to question whether or not the city councilman can build a five-story building along the downtown Square.
Earlier this month, the council adjusted the rules stating buildings in that area can only be 54 feet tall. Councilman Philip Goldstein told Channel 2's Erica Byfield he should be grandfathered in because he submitted his plans to build a 69-foot tall building years ago.
"It appears that they are saying even though the ordinance said it was good for three years, they're saying, ‘No, it's not,'" said Goldstein.
The new committee is called the Litigation Management Committee. It will be composed of the mayor and two councilmen. Mayor Steve Tumlin told Byfield one of the first orders of business will be to hire an outside attorney, because it's rare that a councilman would legally challenge the city.
"He's saying the certificate gives him a grandfather, that remains to be seen," Tumlin said.
Goldstein disputes that.
"It is unusual, but it is unusual for a city to take away something that has been granted that had a life that is still not expired yet," Goldstein said.
The Litigation Management Committee should meet for the first time next week.