Lakewood Ruling Upheld In Court
Turners Unable To Construct DrivewayBy Dennis Phillips dphillips@post-journal.com
Article Photos
LAKEWOOD - There will be no changes to a paper street next to Richard O. Hartley Park in Lakewood anytime soon.
On Monday, Andrew Goodell, a local attorney representing the Village of Lakewood, said the state's Appellate Court ruled in favor of the village, upholding a decision made by the county's Supreme Court in August 2008, that Tom and Michelle Turner could not build a 14-foot-wide, 2-foot-deep driveway on a paper street - a street that has been platted but never constructed - on land off the end of Ohio Avenue and adjacent to the village's park. The paved path the Turners wanted to construct would have allowed them vehicular access to a piece of lakefront property they had purchased.
Goodell said the court ruled the property Turner owned was never part of the subdivision designed in the 1870s to provide access for Ohio Avenue.
Also, the court ruled that there was a lack of clear title by Turner on his property. Goodell said the land in question was, at one time, owned by John Packard. Packard then sold the property to a Warren Packard - but four years later, sold the same piece of property to a third party. Since the third party was never the rightful owner of the land, Goodell said, the Turners' title was called into question by the court.
The Lakewood Village Board didn't give much comment on the decision, but Anthony Caprino, Lakewood mayor, thanked Goodell for a job well done on the case.
In July 2008, the village first denied Turner's request to build the driveway. Caprino said, according to a past edition of The Post-Journal in 2008, the village ruled against the Turners because residents and board members did not want to see an access road constructed so close to the park. The road, if constructed, would have been adjacent to a basketball court at the park, which raised concerns over safety.
At the time of the board's decision, it provided the Turners with a list of 13 reasons why construction of the paved access path had been denied. Among those reasons was one that stated constructing a road on that property would be ''fundamentally and inherently inconsistent with the use of that land as part of the public park'' - particularly since the road would be going across property that has been used as part of the lakeside park for more than 75 years. Other reasons for the village's decision against the Turners included saying a road might interfere with existing concrete drainage ditches. Village officials also said the lot was substantially smaller than the minimum lot size generally required under Lakewood's zoning laws.
In other business, the board tabled a resolution to select a health care plan/coverage for village employees and retirees. However, during the public speaking portion of the meeting, Dudley Ericson, village resident, asked why the board still has health insurance coverage. Ericson argued that several town and village boards do not provide insurance to their trustees, supervisors or mayors, and wondered why Lakewood was different.
Caprino said the village trustees and mayors take less of a salary than most boards, which is one reason why the health insurance option is still available for elected officials. He said salaries for village trustees have not increased in about 27 years and the insurance option has been available for board members since the 1960s. However, Caprino did say village officials are discussing eliminating the insurance option for trustees, who pay 50 percent of the premiums for the coverage. Caprino said the board will discuss the issue more during its next budget discussion, which usually occur in March with the budget being passed in April.
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MrCommonSense
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11-25-09 6:31 PM
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It's good to read a story where the right decisions were made and upheld and good triumphed over evil. Now what about the lake access right of way at the end of Pennsylvania Avenue that the Turners stole from their fellow citizens. Has that matter ever been resolved?
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Brent1
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11-25-09 4:48 PM
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good idea bud...
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BudZilla
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11-25-09 9:35 AM
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Perhaps the Turners should also be held liable for court costs, since they lost.
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SammyBrown
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11-25-09 9:20 AM
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Now is the time for the upright citizens who complained about the county legislators and trheir health insurance plan to gte after all the village and towns that provide free or lower cost insurance for their part time elected officals. But will they? Probably not there are 5 or 6 or more village town employees that could speak up against the issue while the county only had one in the district. Smaller less costly gov't. Time to think mergers- maybe Lakewood Busti Panama HArmony would make a good size town. Are there State $$$ available for such as merger??
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RADCON
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11-25-09 7:24 AM
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justice is served, raw and spicy!
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