A court-ordered hearing before the Westfield Township Board of Zoning Appeals over a controversial zoning variance has been put on hold pending an appeal.
Linda and Timothy Kratzer have been seeking a zoning variance since at least 2007 to permit the commercial development of 105 acres on their Greenwich Road property, which now is zoned primarily for rural homes.
The Kratzers said in 2008 they planned to develop a movie theater, some restaurants, a grocery store with a gas station, and two or three big-box stores on the property.
The Board of Zoning Appeals rejected the Kratzers’ variance request last year, but Medina County Common Pleas Judge Christopher J. Collier in July ruled members of the board were biased against the Kratzers and ordered a new hearing.
In an appeal to the 9th District Court of Appeals, filed in late August, attorneys for the Kratzers argued Collier should have reversed the board’s ruling, not return it to the board for more hearings.
The Kratzers “did not seek a remand to the BZA for a new administrative hearing,” the attorneys wrote in their appeal.
Township officials said no hearings on the matter would be held until the Kratzers’ appeal is complete.
“With their appeal of Judge Collier’s ruling, we’re kind of put on hold,” said James Likley, chairman of the Board of Trustees.
Collier’s ruling overturned a 3-2 decision in which he said two zoning appeals board members, Kevin Daugherty and former chairman Michael Schmidt, were not impartial.
Collier said Daugherty, who now serves as chairman of the zoning appeals board, and Schmidt, who’s since been elected township trustee, “went so far as to encourage, promote, recruit and sway other members of the community to adopt their views on the situation.”
Appeals board member Wayne Moore also voted against rezoning in July 2013. Lee Evans and former member Kathy Lemar voted in favor.
Collier returned the case to board, stating the Kratzers “are entitled to a hearing before an unbiased BZA.”
The case has bounced between trustees, zoning appeals and common pleas court since then.
The new hearing will be before Daugherty, Moore, Evans, John Miller and Keith Simmerer. The board also has an alternate member, Russ Zupanic.
The Kratzers’ attempts at rezoning have been met with backlash from township residents, who have said it would draw increased traffic, which could make it dangerous to move large farming machinery.
Others said property values could drop, and police and fire taxes might rise due to increased traffic through the township. Additionally, they have said there could be an increase in crime, noise and light pollution, and water runoff into Chippewa Creek from development could worsen flooding problems in the area.
Contact reporter Nick Glunt at (330) 721-4048 or nglunt@medina-gazette.com. Follow him on Twitter @ngfalcon.
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