SALEM School district loses zone appeal

Area residents said the bus-garage plan would negatively affect their neighborhood.
By NORMAN LEIGH
VINDICATOR SALEM BUREAU
SALEM -- City school board President Don Finch says the panel will consider its options after learning that property it looked at for a school-bus garage cannot be used for that purpose.
The city's zoning board of appeals met Monday and approved an appeal by two city residents.
Jeff Barton of 1361 Ridgewood Drive and Kevin Schafer of 1100 Franklin Ave. had asked the appeals board to overturn a decision by the city's zoning officer, Patrick Morrissey.
The decision pertains to a trucking and storage facility known as Herron Transfer Co., 1026 Franklin Ave.
The business is allowed to operate in the area, which is zoned for residential use, because the city had long ago granted it a "nonconforming use" status.
In October, Finch asked Morrissey to transfer the nonconforming-use status from the trucking facility to a city school-bus garage.
The city has been considering buying the property to store and maintain its buses.
Increase in use
But Barton, Schafer and other residents argued that using the property as a bus garage would increase and intensify the property's use, making a transfer of the nonconforming-use status improper.
Denny Herron, a company co-owner, said that over the past two years, the business has seldom been used as a trucking facility. It's used primarily for storage, he said.
Residents maintained that the business is largely unobtrusive now. But they said they're fearful that, were it to become a bus garage, noise and traffic into and out of the facility would markedly increase.
"You're going to significantly infringe on my quiet lifestyle," Michael Bigley of 1370 Ridgewood Drive said.
"It would definitely be an increase in use," appeals board Chairman William Turnbull said in explaining why the panel overturned Morrissey's decision.
Further appeal?
Herron Transfer can appeal the decision to Columbiana County Common Pleas Court. Denny Herron said he didn't know whether an appeal will be pursued.
"We were very interested in the property," Finch said after learning of the appeals-board decision.
The school board met privately after its regular meeting Monday to further discuss the matter.
Finch said no action was to be taken after the private meeting.
School officials have said the district could save money by operating its own bus garage to house its nearly 17-bus fleet.
The district now keeps its buses housed and maintained at a private facility on Prospect Street.