Federal appeals court indicates Atlanta Public Safety Training Center case may be moot

After more than a year in limbo, a federal appeals court now wants to know whether a case over a potential referendum on Atlanta’s public safety training center should be dismissed.

The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asked all parties to weigh in earlier this month, given that construction of the 85-acre facility in unincorporated DeKalb County, dubbed “Cop City” by its opponents, is nearly complete.

In a court filing submitted Monday, the City of Atlanta argued that the issue is moot and said that its police officers, firefighters and first responders have been training at the center since it opened late last year.

“The center’s stables house city police horses and its kennels house K-9 units,” the city’s attorneys wrote. “Its trails are open to the public for walking and jogging. Any referendum on the ground lease ordinance will not remove the center from the site or prevent its use by the city for these purposes.”