November 8, 2025 | Mark Luis Foster

We recently blogged about an Atlanta-area HOA that was situated quite close to an historic cemetery (HERE), touching off a legal dispute about who was supposed to care for and maintain the aging site years after developers of the HOA had fled. In a rare follow-up story from the media, CBS News provided an update that the case has been settled.

In the new settlement, both sides agreed that the homeowners association will give the Friends of Piney Grove Cemetery Inc. an undisclosed amount to pay for the restoration and maintenance of the cemetery. The HOA cannot disturb the area with any new development and must remove a “No Trespassing” sign from where it is currently located to avoid confusion.

The site is indeed historic. According to CBS:

Once part of a thriving 19th-century Black community in what is now Buckhead, Piney Grove Cemetery served residents of several neighboring settlements, including Lynwood Park and Johnsontown. The accompanying church congregation later relocated to Decatur, but the cemetery remained on its original land, even as nearby property was sold and redeveloped into upscale housing.

The story goes on to say that the original HOA developers promised to preserve and maintain the site as part of the rezoning and construction, but descendants of those buried in the cemetery indicate that those promises were quickly broken.

Over time, the grounds became overgrown and inaccessible, with fallen trees and trash damaging many of the graves.

You can read the follow-up story from CBS HERE.