Attorney Stirs Emotions at Waste District Board Meeting
By BARB LIMBACHER,T-R Staff Correspondent
BOLIVAR – Remarks by Club 3000 attorney Robert Rubin generated ire and a response from Countywide Recycling and Disposal officials after Friday’s board of directors meeting of the Stark-Tuscarawas-Wayne Joint Solid Waste Management District.
During the landfill committee report, Rubin addressed the board about a ruling Tuesday by the Ohio 5th District Court of Appeals regarding a proposal to expand the landfill.
Board members did not ask Rubin to discuss the matter. Prior to Rubin’s explanation, waste district attorney Vic Marsh said this type of case is usually lumped together, but for some reason it didn’t follow normal procedure. Instead, four different Stark County Common Pleas Court judges – Lee Sinclair, Charles Brown, John Haas and Sara Lioi – had presided over different cases filed regarding the expansion.
In September 2004, Countywide RDF was issued a conditional use permit to expand by 170 acres. A deal was made with Pike Township trustees at a meeting held in the Stark County prosecutor’s office. In return, Countywide agreed to fund an I-77 on-off ramp at Gracemont St. The company also agreed to abide by an earlier decision with the solid waste district to not accept out-of-state waste.
That July, the Pike Township Board of Zoning Appeals had denied the expansion of the landfill, located at 3619 Gracemont St. SW, East Sparta, in Stark County. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency had approved the expansion in June 2003. An expansion would increase the landfill to 258 acres.
In August 2004, the board of zoning appeals granted a request to permit Countywide to expand by 25 percent – or 25 acres – by issuing a non-conforming use certificate. Countywide officials claimed the request should be granted because the facility was there before new zoning regulations went into effect. The company also said it is a public utility and exempt from zoning laws.
Earlier this week, the Ohio 5th District Court of Appeals directed Sinclair to vacate the September 2004 settlement agreement between Republic Services of Ohio, owner of Countywide, and Pike Township that allowed the expansion of Countywide to move forward.
The court said Sinclair should have allowed Fred Charton, a resident of Lawrence Township of Tuscarawas County, to contest the agreement and consider his motion to be named a party in the case.
Judge Haas, the district court ruled, dismissed Charton’s appeal of the Pike Township BZA decision too early, saying the judge should have ruled first on whether the board had to hold a hearing before making its decision.
The court also instructed Judge Lioi to change her decision denying Charton’s motion seeking to be named a party in another case where Republic had appealed a BZA denial of a permit to allow the landfill to expand by 170 acres.
Also, the district court ruled in favor of Republic, that a previous agreement does not require landfill officials to allow Club 3000, an area grassroots environmental group, to inspect the landfill beyond its original 88 acres. Judge Brown had ruled Club 3000 was allowed to monitor and inspect all parts of the landfill.
Rubin said during the meeting that 500 garbage trucks travel to Countywide per day. “That is a truck a minute, six days a week for the next 40 years coming into your area if they continue to expand,” he said. “It affects quality of life and a natural resource – our water. You will never see a landfill in Jackson or Plain townships in Stark County. However, Ohio is becoming the landfill capital of the United States. The company that owns Republic is located in Florida.
“Pike Township’s zoning states you can’t go beyond 100 acres of land use at one time. Countywide wants 170 acres,” he said. “The merits on these cases have not been decided and are going back to the individual judges.”
Frank Reed, an attorney for Countywide RDF, said the legal battle will continue to clog up the courts.
Because Countywide officials were not aware Rubin or Marsh was going to speak, they supplied information after the meeting.
According to Countywide, the 5th District Court of Appeals issued decisions in four cases Tuesday. The four Stark County judges had previously ruled in favor of permitting Countywide to proceed with the expansion.
An audience member asked what the solid waste district’s role is in the appeals court’s decision.
“What is our role? To be made aware,” said Cheryl Noah, Wayne County commissioner and board chairwoman. “The law does not rely on us for a decision. We can voice our opinions, but
we have no legal authority in this action."
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