Prepared Comments Made to
NORTH CANTON CITY COUNCIL
September 14, 2015
Unbelievable as
it sounds, members of North Canton City Council apparently do not want to hear
from its citizens nor do they want to uphold the laws each have sworn to uphold
when they took the oath of office as elected representatives of the citizens of
North Canton.
As proof of that
statement is the nearly one-year long appeal to City Council for a hearing,
appealing the approval of a “Conditional Use” permit by the City’s Planning
Commission, at a meeting held on October 8, 2014, allowing expansion of the
Hoover District Parking Lot into an area zoned residential (R-2F) without
compliance with the City’s Zoning Code.
The appeal
process is guaranteed in Ordinance 1177.11 of the City’s Zoning Code. It is
written in plain simple English that anyone can understand.
Stark County
Court of Common Pleas Judge Kristin Farmer can indeed, read plain simple
English.
Judge Farmer
ruled on August 21, 2015, that “…North Canton City Council’s dismissal of the
Appellants[’] (sic) appeal pursuant to Ordinance 1177.11 was unconstitutional,
illegal, arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable.”
I hope this Council understands
that it has wasted City tax dollars fighting the very residents you are sworn
to represent.
One would think that the ruling of
Judge Farmer was also quite clear.
All assertions by North Canton City
Council to the court regarding who could or could not and who did or did not
have standing to appeal were dismissed entirely by Judge Farmer in her ruling
from the court and that brings me to the point of my remarks tonight.
Last week, I received a letter,
dated September 3, 2015, from Clerk of Council Mary Beth Bailey, outlining the
following rules and procedures for the appeal hearing scheduled before City
Council on September 29, 2015, at 6:00 p.m.
First, the letter states that a single representative would speak
for Appellants, Charles Osborne, Rita Palmer, and Maria Harris.
I want to point out that there were
a total of sixteen citizens who filed the appeal to City Council on November 7,
2014. Each should be allowed an opportunity to speak.
Second, the letter on its face appears to define the rules and
procedures for the hearing.
Perhaps someone should go back and
read Ordinance 1177.11 which states in part “…Council shall establish
appropriate rules and procedures to hear and decide such appeals.”
The rules and procedures for an
appeal hearing, per Ordinance 1177.11, are to be set by Council, not an
individual behind closed doors who then instructs the Clerk of Council on what
to say in her letter.
The rules and procedures must apply
equally to all citizens in appeals to City Council. To establish the rules and
procedures, Council must discuss openly in committee after the topic is placed
on the Council agenda for discussion. Voting for the agreed upon rules and
procedures should take place in a public meeting as in any other action of
Council and approval acknowledged by a majority vote of Council.
Council is a public body and its
actions are conducted in public for the benefit of the public to allow input
from its citizens. In this manner, the requirement of Ordinance 1177.11 where
it states “Council shall establish…” will be met.
Last, the letter states the appeal will be held at a Special
Council meeting.
North Canton City Council conducts Committee
meetings (generally referred to as Council of the Whole) to discuss proposed
legislation. Council holds legislative meetings (referred to as Council
meetings) to vote on legislation. Council holds Public Hearings to satisfy
lawful requirements and invite public input on a particular issue. Council
holds Special Council meetings to vote on special legislation.
An appeal hearing should be titled
as such in order to comply with the purpose of the meeting and be in compliance
with Ordinance 1177.11.
With the exception of the date and
time of the appeal hearing stated in the letter from the Clerk of Council,
nothing else stated in the letter complies with the ruling handed down by Stark
County Court of Common Pleas Judge Kristin Farmer or North Canton Ordinance
1177.11.
Failure to comply with the order of
the Stark County Court of Common Pleas as well as North Canton Ordinance
1177.11 could place North Canton and City Council in contempt of court.
This Council should do what Judge
Farmer has ordered and what North Canton law requires to avoid such a
precarious position. Anything short of those actions could lead to a motion to
hold North Canton City Council in contempt of court.
Thank you,
Chuck Osborne and
Rita Palmer (Osborne)
Residents
City of North Canton
