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Zoning Referendum Opposed by Developer

Is the Sabatino in this issue related to local Sabationo?

From the Columbus Dispatch
DEVELOPERS SEEK TO BLOCK ZONING REFERENDUM
Berlin Township project at heart of dispute
Published: Friday, September 3, 2004
NEWS 05D
By Dana Wilson
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
DELAWARE, Ohio -- The developers behind a proposed Berlin Township subdivision are attempting to stop a referendum from appearing on the upcoming ballot in Delaware County.

Last month, the Board of Elections certified petitions seeking to reverse the Berlin Township trustees' approval of rezoning for the planned Estates at Sherman Lakes subdivision.


Backers of the initiative oppose the developers' plans for a 1 1/2 -acre boat-storage area.

The elections board has scheduled an emergency meeting today to discuss a written protest filed earlier this week by Sherman Estates LLC owners P. Ronald Sabatino and John Kennedy.

Prosecutor Dave Yost this week filed a lawsuit in Delaware County Common Pleas Court, asking the court to decide whether the petitions are valid.

The prosecutor's office had reviewed the petitions and advised the board not to place the issue before voters.

In a letter submitted to the board Aug. 11, Assistant Prosecutor Bill Owen wrote that the petitions were "noncompliant'' and "should be rejected.''

Benjamin Zacks, a Columbus lawyer who represents Sabatino and Kennedy, wrote in the protest letter that the Berlin Township trustees and the elections board violated his clients' due process rights.

"My clients, over time, have encountered a lot of very odd things in Berlin Township and to suggest that both of them are outraged is an understatement,'' Zacks said yesterday. "They don't understand why they've got to keep spending money to correct these kinds of problems. They are very incensed by it.''

The protest states that on the morning of Aug. 28, the trustees held an "emergency'' or "special'' meeting and voted that the referendum should be certified to the elections board.

The trustees did call an emergency meeting that day and passed a resolution giving their approval to include the petitions on the ballot, Township Clerk Mary Rob Clodfelter said yesterday.

"I don't think anybody here has ill intent, neither the developer nor the residents who filed the petition,'' Trustee Ken O'Brien said.

He added that he cast the sole vote against the June 28 resolution that approved rezoning for the subdivision. O'Brien said he had concerns about the boat-storage area.

Trustees Rick Gemienhardt and Tim Halter supported the resolution.

Board of Elections Director Janet Brenneman forwarded the written protest, filed Monday, to the prosecutor's office.

"The board has certified it to the ballot,'' Brenneman said. "My guess is we have a court case unless something changes . . . This is all new. We've not had this particular type of situation before.''

dwilson@dispatch.com

Zoning Referendum

The Columbus Dispatch