Lawmakers move on landfill measure

Restrictions would prohibit a landfill within 500 feet of a home.
By TIM YOVICH
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
LORDSTOWN -- Council has taken the first legislative step to place restrictions on where landfills can be constructed in the village.
Although there are no such facilities in the community, village officials have expressed concern that a company might want to bring one in.
Lawmakers moved to a second reading Monday amended legislation that places restrictions on where such a facility can be located.
Ron Barnhart, village zoning and planning administrator, said the proposed legislation is patterned after Girard's legislation.
Originally, the proposal would have prohibited landfills within 2,500 feet of a residentially zoned district and must be constructed on land zoned for industrial use. Also, a landfill could not have been built within one mile of environmental areas such as wetlands, streams and parks.
Lawmakers, however, amended the legislation to reduce the 2,500-foot limit to 500 feet from a residential structure and 500 feet instead of a mile from wetlands, streams or parks.
Council also eliminated a section dealing with noise levels.
Mayor Michael Chaffee said the village planning commission will deal with noise levels later.
Want to move ahead
Some lawmakers wanted to return the entire legislation to the planning commission, Chaffee said, but the majority wanted it kept on the fast track.
Chaffee said council wants to pass legislation that will hold up in court.
Barnhart said the location of a landfill can't be too restrictive because "we have to allow them to go someplace."
If not, he explained, a landfill company could challenge the restrictions in court and win.
Landfills that allow construction and demolition debris have become a concern of some communities.
In Girard, Total Waste Logistics, which already operates a landfill in that city, has made a second application for a second one. Another company is looking to construct a facility in Hubbard Township.
The Ohio Senate has passed legislation that would extend by four months the current six-month moratorium on landfill construction that expires Dec. 31.
yovich@vindy.com