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Tentative BIA Lawsuit Settlement

From This Week in Pickerington

More indepth coverage in this weeks Southeast Messenger not available on the web.


Moratorium lawsuit is settled

Thursday, January 20, 2005

MICHAEL J. MAURER
ThisWeek Staff Writer

Five months after the expiration of the housing moratorium that started it, a lawsuit between the city of Pickerington and the Building Industry Association has reached a tentative settlement.

With a handful of abstentions from a few council members, Pickerington City Council heard the first readings of six different ordinances Tuesday night that will effect an agreement under which the city will pay $50,000 to Fannin Builders, comply with preannexation agreements previously entered into by the city, and purchase nine acres of park land for $250,000.

Mayor David Shaver said the $50,000 payment was a decision by the city's insurance company, which is expected to cover the cash cost.

Attorney Mark Landes said the agreement does not prevent the city from re-establishing a moratorium, if studies determine that it would be appropriate.

"We would have to have a new (comprehensive land use) plan to adopt a new moratorium," Landes said.

The agreement states, "The city shall not impose any limitation on residential development inconsistent with the terms of this agreement within five years."

The city also agreed to include a BIA representative on all working groups and committees that include members of the public for the purpose of studying development fees and land use plans.

Shaver said the agreement would not hinder the city's ability to control growth.

"This sets the stage for further cooperation with the developers," Shaver said. "It does not restrain the city from anything we were planning to do."

City Manager Judith Gilleland said that the city service committee would begin work on a cost-impact fee study within the next few weeks, and that cost-of-service studies and growth management plans would be complete a few weeks after that.

At an unspecified later time, the comprehensive land use plan would be studied to determine whether it should be updated, Gilleland said.

She estimated that between 150 and 200 single-family housing permits had been issued during 2004.

The agreement also specifies that a two-unit per acre density limitation approved by Pickerington voters in 2002 applied only to single-family homes and not to multi-family housing, such as apartments.

Other terms affirm that builders who had reached preannexation agreements with the city were entitled to build according to those agreements, despite the two-unit per acre limit.

Maronda Homes will receive final plat approval for the Georges Creek subdivision at 2.47 units per acre, while the Clark trust property will be developed at density up to 2.8 units per acre.

The lawsuit was filed on election day 2003, as Shaver and a slate of slow-growth candidates won a landslide victory on a campaign platform that said the city had been too lenient with developers. The city had won its first go-round in court, when Judge John Connor ruled that the moratorium was constitutionally permissible.

Despite that victory, the city declined to renew the moratorium when it expired in August 2004.

Several council members said the agreement was a fair settlement for the builders and the city. However, council member Doug Parker criticized the purchase of park land from Fannin, saying it was just a way for the city to save face.

"I think we're buying park land that was going to be deeded to the city anyway," Parker said.

From Pickerington Times Sun

City, BIA reach agreement in suit over building limits

By ANTHONY DILL

A tentative agreement has been reached between the city of Pickerington and the Building Industry Association to settle a 14-month dispute.

A final draft along with six ordinances was expected to be addressed by City Council Tuesday to bring the matter to a conclusion.

The agreement will settle all claims arising from the case, change the city's codified ordinances to allow transfers of building permits obtained before Aug. 1; toll any approved preliminary plats, final plats or sections of approved preliminary or final plats until July 31, 2006; and extend the life of building permits submitted prior to Aug. 1, 2004 to Aug. 1, 2005;

The city will also accept the final plat of phase two of the Maronda Georges Creek subdivision at 2.47 units per acre and phase one of the Shawnee Crossing subdivision only if Fannin Builders revises the drainage plan, pays the city $9,000 to repair curbs in the subdivision and posts a maintenance bond for the subdivision.

"I think what you'll find in the settlement is a fairness issue on both sides," said Steve Smith, attorney for Schottenstein, Zox and Dunn, the law firm representing the city..

Four of the six ordinances were first introduced Jan. 4, but no action was taken on them at the advice of interim law director Phil Hartmann of Schottenstein, Zox and Dunn, which will handle all of the city's law services while the search for a permanent law firm ensues.

The BIA filed suit against Pickerington in November 2003 after voters approved residential density minimums of 2 units per acre.

The association was also opposed to a building moratorium that limited the builders to 100 building permits for one year.

Nine builders filed with the BIA against the city to protest the moratorium.

Four of those builders were also claiming damages as a result of the moratorium and density restrictions.

They said limitations have driven away customers and have caused monetary damage every day they were in effect.

In the suit, the BIA charged the moratorium is unconstitutional on its face and as applied.

Franklin County Municipal Judge John A. Connor, who is hearing the case, disagreed with the claim the moratorium is unconstitutional on its face in a June decision.

The moratorium expired in August and City Council has since been pursuing a growth management plan that includes impact fees to offset the cost of the additional services needed with the city's growth.

The city racked up $115,378 in legal expense throughout the BIA litigation. Only $16,600.50 was paid out of pocket by the city. The rest was covered by insurance.

BIA Lawsuit

This Week in Pickerington
Pickerington Times Sun