Letter: County Commission plays favorites with spot zoning

In the Sunday Press article “SolarBee, Inc. looks to expand,” the Stark County Commission was said to be “tough on spot zoning.”

I disagree — at least when it comes to the proposed South Heart coal project, which lies miles away from any other industrial zoning.

Spot zoning means changing land use to accommodate a single user, instead of zoning for the overall needs of the community.

The Stark County commissioners did exactly that for Great Northern Power Development in 2009, ignoring the county’s comprehensive plan, and zoning a number of farmers right out of business.

The commissioners also turned a deaf ear to overwhelming opposition to the project from people living in the area. In fact, a court overturned the decision because the commissioners had offered no written rationale for it.

Then, the commissioners returned and did the same spot zoning last year, giving the company the right not just to mine, but also to build a chemical fertilizer plant, a coal gasification plant, an electric power generating plant and a solid waste landfill.

Oh, and they can also manufacture and store hazardous products. The commissioners also spot zoned 40 acres of agricultural land into industrial land to benefit the Australian company GTL in October 2009.

The message is clear: If you are an existing area business that wants to expand, you’ll be subject to scrutiny. If you are an out-of-state company that bought up millions of dollars of coal rights on speculation and has no known market for its product, the commission will push anyone and everyone out of your way.

If that is being “tough” on spot zoning, what would it mean to be lenient?

Beth Hurt, South Heart

Tags: south heart, opinion, letters, coal, mine