Building owner sues Warren, official

By Ed Runyan | June 21, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

WARREN

Sergio DiPaolo, the Girard man who bought the former Delphi Packard Electric buildings on Dana and Griswold streets, has sued the city of Warren and its building inspector for preventing him from moving forward with his demolition and renovation project there.

DiPaolo filed the suit in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court, saying the stop-work order that Building Inspector Chris Taneyhill issued Jan. 26, as well as other communications from Taneyhill since then, has maliciously prevented DiPaolo from developing the property.

The suit seeks more than $25,000 in compensatory damages as well as unspecified punitive damages.

DiPaolo says he has complied with the requests Taneyhill has made — that DiPaolo and his company, DiPaolo Industrial Development of Refractory Drive in Champion, apply to become a registered Warren contractor and submit demolition and construction plans.

The lawsuit said DiPaolo filed all required documents to become a registered contractor May 4 and instructed the architectural firm David L. Rockman and Associates of Warren on May 17 to supply the city with all documents required for a demolition permit.

But on June 1, Taneyhill issued a letter requesting additional information on the demolition permit, the suit says, that is “outside the scope of the Warren City Building Code.”

The suit seeks a preliminary and permanent injunction to prevent Taneyhill from continuing to demand items such as an environmental-impact study as a condition of issuing a demolition permit.

Taneyhill said the contractor registration has not been denied but is pending. A letter is being sent to DiPaolo informing him that his bond has been denied because a signature that was provided was a photocopy, not an original.

As for the demolition permit, that won’t be approved until DiPaolo and Rockman supply documents showing how the storm and sanitary sewers at the site will be terminated, as well as how the tunnel running from the former Delphi administration building to the manufacturing buildings will be terminated.

Taneyhill said the June 1 letter stated that DiPaolo had 30 days to appeal the matter to the Ohio Board of Building Appeals. The board said DiPaolo had not appealed the matter as of Friday.

“We’re trying to help him, but we’re not getting the information as requested,” Taneyhill said.

In an emailed statement about the lawsuit, DiPaolo said he filed the suit after “exhausting all avenues.”