Attorney says ban in Walnut Township ‘is not enforceable’
WALNUT TOWNSHIP − Several Walnut Township short-term rental unit owners are suing the township after the trustees banned short-term rentals, or tourist homes, in residential areas.
The property owners originally filed the suit in the Fairfield County Common Pleas Court. But the case will now be heard in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio Eastern Division.
Township zoning inspector Mike Berry recently sent notices to the owners notifying them of a zoning violation by operating a tourist home business in seven residential districts. They are permitted in one business district only.
Among other things, the letters say tourist homes are considered a business according to township zoning “due to their transient occupancy and commercial nature.”
In the letter, Berry said the property owners have two options. One is to file an appeal with the zoning board for a $650 fee. The other option is to apply for re-zoning of their parcel. That carries a $1,000 fee, plus a $60 acre fee.
The township, the township zoning office and trustees Bill Yates, Terry Horn and Doug Leith are the defendants
Dublin attorney Eric Wittenberg is representing the property owners, who are the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The plaintiffs are:
● Purple Munky Property Company LLC, from Pickerington
● TVL Holdings, LCC from Columbus
● Glasser Living Trust from Columbus
● Robert M. Yerke Trust from Columbus
● Alpine Investments, LLC from Columbus
● Brett and Emily Obrovac from Gahanna
● Clara the Airstream from Thornville
● Tracy’s Places, LLC from Thornville
● Scott, Erin and Parker Webb from Millersport
● Sampson Hall from Columbus
● Molly Bishop-lloyd from Pickerington
● Mary Satterfield from Lancaster
● Ashlee Dresbach from Athens
● Theresa and Jason Huber from Pickerington
● Rannebarger Home Maintenance from Columbus
Wittenberg said the township is relying on language that doesn’t exist in the zoning regulation as its justification for refusing to permit the shortterm rentals.
“There is no such thing defined in either the zoning resolution or the Ohio Revised Code that defines something called a tourist home,” he said. “But yet they say it’s a tourist home, and that tourist homes are businesses, and therefore, not permitted. So we are asking the court to declare that that is an inappropriate and illegal interpretation, and as such it is not enforceable.”
Leith said he represents all township residents as a trustee.
“To me it boils down to two things,” he said. “No. 1, we already have zoning for short-term rentals and what the requirements are if you want to do that. The second thing would be is I classify it as someone trying to run a business in a residentially-zoned proper area. So it becomes a zoning issue more than anything else. So that’s the short version of it.”
Leith said per legal council, that is all he could say on the issue.
Attorneys Patrick Kasson and Austin Richards of Reminger Co., LPA,
“To me, it’s exciting that some money is coming into the area, some investment and value is being created. Then the first thought everyone seems to have at the government level about the lake is how can we stop this? And I don’t get it.”
from Columbus are representing the township.
David Comisford and his girlfriend, Megan Bruno, own a short-term rental property about a block from the waterfront and about two blocks from the
Millersport boundary. They are not part of the suit, but they are affected by the trustee’s order. Comisford said they have an attorney and are watching how the suit plays out.
Comisford said tourism is a big reason why the Buckeye Lake area is growing.
“When people travel and are staying somewhere as a tourist, they go out to eat, they go out for coffee and they go out for drinks way more than we do when we’re home,” he said. “To me, it’s exciting that some money is coming into the area, some investment and value is being created. Then the first thought everyone seems to have at the government level about the lake is how can we stop this? And I don’t get it.” jbarron@gannett.com 740-681-4340
Twitter: @Jeffdbarron