Maumee passes moratorium on new storage facilities, hires law director - Toledo Blade
During a special meeting Thursday, Maumee City Council passed a temporary moratorium on miniwarehouse facilities in the city, halting the approval of any permits, plans, and applications for new construction.
Jerry Sawicki, co-owner of a property that was planned to be sold and developed for the expansion of a self-storage business, said the passage of the moratorium was underhanded and nontransparent.
“It’s unconscionable to spring this,” he said. “It’s wrong to deny us what is otherwise a permitted use under their own zoning code.”
The property that Mr. Sawicki co-owns is approximately seven acres located at 919 Illinois Ave. Five years ago, he said, the property was about 15 acres but half was sold to the owner of a self-storage business — the same owner who now wants to expand.
The deal was scheduled to be closed this week. But with the city’s recent actions, it’s been put on hold.
“The city of Maumee should know better than this,” Mr. Sawicki said.
Gene Abercrombie, a Toledo attorney representing the Illinois Avenue property owners, said the moratorium is temporary but could be extended. Typically, Mr. Abercrombie said when municipalities issue moratoriums, it’s to address issues of health or safety.
“They’ve really given us no reason for it,” he said.
The property owners were also upset that they were given no chance to speak at the meeting Thursday.
“No public comment, no public input,” said Steve Serchuk, one of the four owners. “This is criminal.”
Mayor Rich Carr said because the meeting was a special meeting, no public comments needed to be taken. He also said the city didn’t pass any new legislation or change any law — officials paused the process on miniwarehouse facilities so that leaders could review the city’s building codes and zoning laws.
“We’ve made major changes to the building code in the past year and a half,” Mr. Carr said.
He also noted that the city had no active applications for new or expanded miniwarehouse facilities.
In separate business, council also approved the appointment of a new law director.
The new hire, Alan Lehenbauer, has years of experience in municipal law, having served as the solicitor for Swanton and Metamora since 2005.
“He brings 16 years of experience of basically a law director for a village,” Mr. Carr said. “He is able to hit the ground running.”
Mr. Lehenbauer grew up in Henry County and practiced at The McQuades Co. in Swanton. In private practice, he handled a wide variety of cases, including criminal defense, personal injury, and trusts and estates.
Municipal law, he said, is often contract work. When Mr. Lehenbauer saw the job description for Maumee’s law director, it was an alignment of his experience and the city’s needs.
“It was like a light bulb went off,” he said.
The city’s former law director, David Busick, resigned in October. He had been appointed to the position last year.
First Published December 30, 2021, 4:13pm
source: https://www.toledoblade.com/local/suburbs/2021/12/30/maumee-passes-moratorium-on-storage-facilities-hires-new-law-director/stories/20211230115
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