43
Poland developer files suit over zoning denial
Rejection of the zone change is unreasonable, arbitrary, a lawsuit says.
YOUNGSTOWN — A developer whose proposal for a zone change to build apartments in Poland Village was rejected has now sued the village, its council and planning commission.
The lawsuit, filed in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court by Singer Homes LLC of Pinehill Drive, Poland, asks the court to order that the zone change be granted — and to order a jury trial to determine monetary damages to be paid by the village to Singer Homes for the financial hardship caused by the denial of the zone change.
Singer Homes sought a zone change for 2.6 acres from single-family to multifamily residential to allow four sixplex apartment buildings with garages between East McKinley Way and Marion Drive. The apartment buildings would be surrounded by evergreen trees and connected by sidewalks.
After three public hearings, the planning commission voted 4-0 on June 23, with its chairman, J. Michael Thompson, abstaining, to recommend that village council deny the zone-change application.
The commission determined that the proposed zone change, which neighbors opposed, didn’t conform to the village’s comprehensive plan and wasn’t compatible with the surrounding single-family neighborhood.
After conducting two of its own hearings, village council voted unanimously Aug. 11 to accept the planning commission’s recommendation to deny the zone change.
“The village government handled the original zoning question properly,” Thompson said in an interview. “That’s the outcome the lawsuit’s going to find,” he predicted.
“Every time we have a zoning dispute in Poland, somebody sues. This is just another one of those,” he added.
The lawsuit says the village’s decision to deny the rezoning “is unreasonable, arbitrary, confiscatory and not based on the public health, safety and welfare of the community” and violates the U.S. and Ohio constitutions.
Council’s decision “is contrary to law and does not substantially advance a legitimate state interest,” and it denies the developers “all economically viable uses of their land,” the suit said.
The proposed apartment complex complies with the village zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan, the suit says.
“It’s a constitutional requirement that a landowner be allowed to develop his or her land at its highest and best use as long as it’s not completely incompatible with the standards of the community,” attorney Stephen T. Bolton, who filed the lawsuit, said in an interview.
The apartments, which would rent for about $1,000 a month and up, would benefit the village by allowing local residents, who no longer want the responsibilities of homeownership, to remain in the village, Bolton said.
“It ought to be a perfectly legitimate option,” Bolton said, noting that the village now has only about 40 apartments.
“It’s a perfectly benign request. There’s no wish to disturb the character of the village. We think that the apartments are well within the character of the village,” Bolton concluded.
The case is assigned to Judge Lou A. D’Apolito.