of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio
of Chillicothe, Ross County & South-Central Ohio updated 2/15/05, new 2/04/05The owner of a Western Avenue property and the developer interested in the parcel has filed suit against the City of Chillicothe for not granting a rezoning that would allow a Walgreens store and another business to be developed on the land.
The Chillicothe Gazette and Clear Channel radio Chillicothe (WBEX and WKKJ) report that Henry Barlow (and his wife Patricia) and Anchor Properties Inc. have filed suit in Ross County Common Pleas Court. The lawsuit claims that two council members should have been allowed to vote but weren't, requests that a jury determine the amount of damages, and and requests that the city cover the court costs.
The two council members were Cindy Henderson (R - At Large) and Tom Trutschel (R - First Ward, which includes the property). They were prohibited from voting because of conflicts of interest following advice by attorney Jim Cutright who was acting legal counsel for city council. The city's own attorney, Law Director Toni Barlow Eddy, had recused herself since she is the daughter of the Barlows. Cindy Henderson owns a medical supply store (the "Medicine Shoppe") and Tom Trutschel owns a convenience store, both within half a mile of the proposed Walgreens.
(Cindy Henderson had told this writer, some time before the final vote, that she would recuse herself from voting since she felt she had a conflict of interest - so I'm not sure what Barlow et al. expect to gain from forcing her into the vote!)
The lawsuit apparently does not mention council member Joe Herlihy (R - At Large), who was also prohibited from voting, but only after less strenuous advice from counsel the his conflict of interest was from being the treasurer of the Chillicothe Conservancy, a preservation organization that opposed the rezoning. He has since left the organization.
The Chillicothe Gazette's front-page article by Kate Giammarise ended with four paragraphs of lengthy quotes from Mr. Herlihy. However, the map included with the article placed the Barlow's property on the wrong side of Western Avenue.
One of Herlihy's quotes in the Chillicothe Gazette sided with opponents of the rezoning, many of which who were residents of Governor's Place Condominiums:
"Do we want to tear up this neighborhood, create a big bottleneck for traffic, ruin an attractive entrance for the city? The people who live in this neighborhood, who will be affected, they don't want it."
More information on the proposed Walgreens development, and the battle over rezoning, is in the linked timeline and in several earlier articles by Heritage News.
new 10/15/04Since City counsel Toni Barlow Eddy is still the daughter of the principal of the lawsuit, on February 14th council suspended the three-reading rule to immediately appropriated up to $10,000 for legal counsel in the lawsuit.
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| A panorama of the property as it is now...before any more changes. This is the first of a series of visual suggestions of what might happen with this property if it is rezoned. |
