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Preble Post Gazette
FLASH!
Staley thumbs his nose at the Judge! This is just getting silly… Last year Doug Staley, John Steger's code enforcement officer thought that paving the buffer zone was just fine. Even after he was overturned by the ZBA and then by the Honorable Phillip R. Rumsey of the Supreme Court of the State of New York he still contends incredibly that we do NOT have a buffer zone law in Preble! See Staley's June 28, 2000 letter here. In the Judgement of the Honorable Phillip R. Rumsey of the Supreme Court of the State of New York dated 12/17/1999 (see the complete file here) he said: "Respondent's (that's us, the people of Preble) interpretation of section 535 (E) finds further support in the explicit requirement that the buffer be "maintained so as to provide visual screening and separation between commercial and non-commercial uses" (Zoning Ordinance, § 535[E][emphasis added (by the judge)]). To interpret the first sentence as petitioner (Flying J's Rick Shafer and Staley) suggests, that is, as permitting any activity or construction whatsoever in the buffer zone, as long as a 100-foot separation is maintained between any building or other three-dimensional "structure", would render the second sentence effectively meaningless, and contravene the plain intent of the buffer requirement" Continuing… "the relevant (buffer zone) provision, when read in its entirety, mandates a 100-foot wide strip free from any commercial activity" [emphasis added by me] Now I may not have the credentials that Mr. Staley/Steger has but when I read "a 100-foot wide strip free from any commercial activity" it sure seems to me that we have a law and that it is pretty plain. After all "free from any commercial activity" means that you can't put anything in the buffer zone and "any" includes sewage pipes in my dictionary. But then that's me and plain English may not be so plain to some of our 'officials' in Preble. In the Staley letter he said; "There is no legal definition description of a buffer strip in the Town of Preble Zoning book." Didn't he read this section from that book? SECTION 545 OTHER PROVISIONS AND REQUIREMENTS E. Industrial structures shall be located so as to be a minimum of one hundred (100) feet from any non-industrial district. This one hundred (100) foot buffer strip shall be perpetually maintained so as to provide visual screening and separation between industrial and non-industrial uses. Hmmm looks like we do have a legal "definition description" here. What's going on here? Why would Staley come to this conclusion after being overturned by the ZBA AND the Supreme Court? Well… he does 'work' for John Steger… maybe he was just doing what his boss told him to do even though it might make him look foolish.The Honorable Phillip R. Rumsey of the Supreme Court of the State of New York's ability to read this section of our law seemed to be a bit better than Doug Staley's. But then he's just a Supreme Court Judge and Staley is… well… a code enforcement officer… for Preble! Even our lawyer Fran Casullo seemed to think that the Judge only determined the issue of the pavement. Perhaps he needs to reread the Judges finding. I wouldn't want to be Fran appearing before the Judge with this issue a second time. I can see it now. The judge looks down from the bench at Fran and says, "What part of "free from any commercial activity" didn't you understand Mr. Casullo?" Maybe he likes to be chastised by a Judge from of the Supreme Court of the State of New York! What fools these people must think we are. Frank Hogg 6/28/2000 |