Friday, December 09, 2005

 

Appeals court rules in favor of landfill critics

Copley Ohio Newspapers
December 1, 2005

CANTON – The 170-acre expansion under way at the Countywide Recycling and Disposal Facility in Pike Township may again be in legal jeopardy, due to recent appeals court rulings.

The Ohio 5th District Court of Appeals directed Stark County Common Pleas Judge Lee Sinclair to vacate a September 2004 settlement agreement between the landfill’s owner, Republic Services of Ohio, and Pike Township that allowed the expansion to move forward.

Appeals Judges John Boggins, W. Scott Gwin and John Wise said that Sinclair should have allowed Fred Charton, a Bolivar resident who owns a farm next to the landfill, to contest the agreement. They ordered Sinclair to consider Charton’s motion to be named a party in the case.

“I am glad it went the way it went. It looks better for the home team,” Charton said. “I get to intervene on everything that happened between Pike Township and Countywide.”

Republic spokesman Will Flower said the company wanted to review the rulings before commenting.

The panel also found that Stark County Common Pleas Judge John Haas prematurely dismissed Charton’s appeal of the Pike Township Board of Zoning Appeal’s ruling in August 2004 that allowed Countywide to expand by 25 acres. It returned the case to Haas, saying the judge should have ruled first on whether the board had to hold a hearing before making its decision.

It also ordered Stark County Common Pleas Judge Sara Lioi to reverse her decision denying Charton’s motion seeking to be named a party in another case. That’s where Republic appealed the Board of Zoning Appeals’ denial in July 2004 of a permit that would allow the landfill to expand by 170 acres.

 But in the settlement, Pike Township officials agreed to set aside the denial if Republic agreed to fund an I-77 ramp off Gracemont St. SW that would allow garbage trucks on the way to Countywide to bypass local neighborhoods.

Charton said that deal was made behind closed doors in the Stark County prosecutor’s office.

“Pike Township also is now accountable for their actions,” he said.

The appeals court decisions open the way for the settlement to be thrown out. That could mean the Board of Zoning Appeals’ ruling denying the 170-acre expansion would apparently go back into effect.

Republic did win one victory. The three-judge panel said contrary to a ruling by Stark County Common Pleas Judge Charles Brown, an agreement did not require Republic to allow environmental group Club 3000 to inspect areas of the landfill beyond its original 88 acres.

But Robert G. Rubin, an attorney for Charton and Club 3000, said this may not matter.

“If it’s possible to prevail on the prevention of the expansion, then it’s not a great concern you would be prevented from inspecting.”

T-R Staff Correspondent Barb Limbacher contributed to this story.