In the case Women of the Old W. End, Inc. v. Toledo City Council, 2021-Ohio-3267, the Sixth District Court of Appeals held that the trial court erred in granting the city’s motion to dismiss a neighborhood association’s (“Association”) appeal to challenge the city’s approval of a special use permit for a group home.
Here, the association claimed that it was an aggrieved party based on the city approving a major site plan which included a new apartment group home in the city. The association reasoned that some of its members lived, worked, and conducted business in the area in which group home was to be built.
The city filed a motion to dismiss the association’s complaint and the Court of Common Pleas granted the motion, arguing that the association had failed to exhaust all other administrative remedies before the zoning board of appeals. The Court of Appeals disagreed.
The Court of Appeals held that the association made a prima facie showing of standing for the purposes of the municipal code and that the association’s major sit plan review appeal should have been held before the city council. As such, the Court found that the trial court erred in granting the city’s motion to dismiss.
To read this case, click here.
Authors: Matthew John Markling and the McGown & Markling Team.
Note: This blog entry does not constitute – nor does it contain – legal advice. Legal jurisprudence is like the always-changing Midwestern weather. As a result, this single blog entry cannot substitute for consultation with a McGown & Markling attorney. If legal advice is needed with respect to a specific factual situation, please feel free to contact a McGown & Markling attorney.