Complaints over a property fill in Rome Township prompted commissioners last week to take a closer look at countywide development regulations.

Monday, September 11, 2000

Complaints over a property fill in Rome Township prompted commissioners last week to take a closer look at countywide development regulations.

The move came after complaints from property owners living near a fill on the south side of Ohio 7 near the S curve.

Roger Wireman, who spoke on behalf of several landowners Thursday, said the fill project next to his house will cause water to back up onto his property and the height of it will affect his property value.

A resident on Ohio 7 complained at Thursday’s meeting about a neighboring property owner piling filler material several feet high next to his property.

Wireman complained that the county issued a floodplain permit, which led to the project’s beginning, and the county should be held liable.

Structures must be built above the floodplain but the height goes beyond what floodplain regulations require, he said.

County commission president Bruce Trent said the board asked the prosecutor’s office to consider what the county can do to help property owners.

Although commissioners are still waiting on a written opinion, they received word that it’s likely to be a civil issue for the courts, Trent said.

The county also does not have storm drainage regulations or rules regulating construction, he said.

The county only regulates floodplain development and the developer meets those requirements, which only exist to make sure no one builds below the 100-year floodplain level set by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, said Doug Cade, the county’s floodplain consultant with the Ironton-Lawrence County Community Action Organization.

Trent agreed with property owners that placing filler material as high as nearby roofs does not look good, but the county has no regulations that apply in the situation.

"That’s a challenge this commission sees, to look at storm drain regulations and some type of building regulations," he said.

Commissioners voted to ask the county’s Planning Commission to start aggressive development of such regulations.

The county will also take another look at its floodplain regulations.

Those rules dictate that fills must have a minimum height that places them above the floodplain, but the county could also consider a maximum height, Trent said.

Commissioner George Patterson also made motions to contact the EPA to test fill dirt for contaminants, to ask the Ohio Department of Natural Resources for an opinion and to request the prosecutor to determine if the county can stop fill projects when they cause drainage or other damage.

Trent suggested landowners also contact trustees, who have the ability to enact local zoning regulations.

Property owners suggested they might seek a lawsuit against the county.