One for the books
Part ONE
Frank Hogg 6/15/2000
(It's getting awfully hard to keep up with all this…)
Wait till you hear this. First I must tell you that I haven't got all the details so keep that in mind while you read this.
At last Mondays Town Board meeting Amanda Shaw, lawyer with Shafers firm and head lawyer for Flying J or at least was way back when Rick first introduced her to the board, put forth a proposal to the Town Board. This may have been just a trial balloon or a fishing expedition or God knows what but this is the gist of it… Ready?
The idea is to have the Town Board rezone 100 feet of Paul and Maureen Knapps strawberry patch that butts up against the south end of the Flying J site as industrial. Flying J does not want to buy this 100 feet they just want to have it rezoned. That way, as the story goes Flying J and the Town would avoid lawsuits (read that Flying J is prepared to sue and sue and sue the town) over the buffer zone issue. This way Flying J could pave right up to the edge of their property.
One of my sources said that Peter Knapp asked Amanda is she had talked to Paul about this. Amanda is said to have said that they were in talks with Paul and Maureen Knapp.
Now for some speculation on my part…
Flying J wants to use the buffer zone otherwise the site is too small. Paul Knapp has 'sold' the farmland to the 'forever green' thing and can't sell it to Flying J even if he wanted too. Apparently this wouldn't stop the Town Board from rezoning 100 feet of Paul's land industrial and that would mean that Flying J did not butt up against Ag land but industrial land and thus no buffer zone is needed by Flying J. Neat! However besides the legal issue and that's huge, of whether that is possible there are other interesting things to consider.
If this were done then it would be on Paul and Maureen Knapps head to create and provide the buffer zone as the dividing line would be on their property. They would also lose the use of that 100 feet, about 2 1/2 acres, of land and perhaps twice that depending on how you read the code. If they agreed to this they would also have to take the considerable heat for breaking their promise last year and again recently in the Dick Case article in the Post Standard. Flying J would have to come up with a huge hunk of money for them to sell their souls out like that.
I wonder why Shafer is doing this? Methinks that it would delay things considerable as all the stuff at the Planning Board would come to a stop. The site plan would be different if it went through and I doubt the Planning Board wants to go through this twice. Once for the old plan and then again for the new one. It would be a delay of six months or more.
When more details come out I'll post them. Jane hadn't finished doing the minutes when I called her this afternoon. I'll try again on Saturday and post them when I get them. I'll also see if Amanda Shaw will discuss this with me and post that outcome. This whole thing could be wrong but I think I have the bulk of it right.
UPDATE: This is the single biggest outlawed practice in Zoning law--- its called spot zoning--- rezoning to suit the purpose of one guy who doesn't like the results... A huge no no. I guess Shafers law firm wasn't aware of it.
One for the books
Part TWO
Tuesday night, court night at the Town Hall.
Marilyn Stoker, Preble Town justice threw out all the charges against Bob Jones for his activities at the Preble Rest area a few weeks ago. In case you might have been living in a tree back then Bob Jones and others were part of a sting operation put on by the State Police at the rest area for 'activities' in the men's room. (Get my drift?) This seems to clear the way for the same activities at the Flying J site if it gets in. Way to go Marilyn Stoker. Just what the old boys wanted.