ZONING Variance request won't get rehearing

Trustees heard testimony Thursday night.
By JOHN W. GOODWIN JR.
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
POLAND -- Township trustees decided there was no bias in a ruling by the zoning board of appeals, and an area real estate investor will not get a new variance hearing.
Ron Eiselstein sought a variance from the zoning board for property he's developing on Annie Street and Kennedy Road.
The board denied the variance, and Eiselstein said the reason was because of a conflict of interest on the part of Hank Grover, a zoning appeals board member.
Trustees, in a public hearing Thursday night, heard testimony from Eiselstein; Grover; a member of the zoning commission; and another member of the zoning board of appeals.
Eiselstein was seeking a new hearing from the board -- minus Grover.
Eiselstein said Grover should have removed himself from the hearing because of several conflicts of interest. He said the primary conflict comes from a property dispute Eiselstein is having with a woman neighbor in Poland Village.
Grover, a surveyor with Western Reserve Land Consultants, has business ties with the woman.
Other reasons
Eiselstein also stated two other reasons for which he says Grover should have excused himself from the hearing.
He told trustees that Grover overstepped his authority as an appeals board member by addressing issues outside the scope of the variance request and he influenced other board members on the request.
"This harms me economically. I am doing a good project in Poland," said Eiselstein.
Grover told trustees he does have business ties with the woman, but he had only dealt twice with Eiselstein concerning the village matter.
"For me to recuse myself from the board because I have met a person, and probably not spent 20 minutes talking to him or [being] in his presence, doesn't make sense to me," he said. "I think this has been a waste of time and money for a number of us here tonight."
Grover also told trustees he did not step outside his power as an appeals board member in rendering the decision.
Connie Coloutas, zoning commission member, and Margaret Piroschak, zoning appeals board member, both spoke in favor of Grover. Both said Grover showed no bias in rendering the decision. The appeals board vote was 5-0 against granting the variance.
In the end, trustees unanimously voted there was no bias on Grover's part. They asked Eiselstein why he had not taken the matter to Mahoning County Common Pleas Court. He said he conferred with his legal counsel, who advised him to approach trustees for a new hearing.
The law allows 30 days for a denied variance request to be appealed to common pleas court. Eiselstein's variance hearing was Feb. 26, meaning the 30 days for a court appeal has expired.
jgoodwin@vindy.com