Judge rules in favor of Renergy in zoning case
By London Bishop - lbishop@aimmediamidwest.com
BATH TOWNSHIP, Greene County A Greene County judge has ruled in favor of Renergy and Dovetail Energy, LLC, stating the biodigester facility operated by the company is a public utility, and therefore exempt from Bath Township zoning regulations.
The decision, handed down Thursday by Greene County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Buckwalter, reverses the Bath Township Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) ruling that the biodigester, 1156 Herr Road, was in violation of the township’s zoning regulations. The decision is a win for Renergy, which operates the Dovetail facility but a loss for Bath Township and Fairborn residents, who have long opposed the biodigester due to the smell, health concerns, and environmental impacts.
Judge rules in favor of Renergy in zoning case
By London Bishop - lbishop@aimmediamidwest.com
BATH TOWNSHIP, Greene County A Greene County judge has ruled in favor of Renergy and Dovetail Energy, LLC, stating the biodigester facility operated by the company is a public utility, and therefore exempt from Bath Township zoning regulations.
The decision, handed down Thursday by Greene County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael Buckwalter, reverses the Bath Township Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) ruling that the biodigester, 1156 Herr Road, was in violation of the township’s zoning regulations. The decision is a win for Renergy, which operates the Dovetail facility but a loss for Bath Township and Fairborn residents, who have long opposed the biodigester due to the smell, health concerns, and environmental impacts.
Latest court filings dispute Bath biodigester’s utility status
Dovetail’s biodigester facility located on Herr Road in Bath Township.
BATH TOWNSHIP The latest court filings in a lawsuit regarding the Bath Township biodigester dispute claims that the facility is a public utility.
The Bath Township Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) filed a response to Dovetail Energy’s Notice of Supplemental Authority on Feb. 18, stating that Dovetail’s argument that it is a public utility is erroneous.
In its response, the township asserted that Dovetail’s operation does not meet the agricultural use exemption under the Ohio Revised Code. According to court documents, a biomass energy facility is exempt from zoning regulations if “at least 50 percent of the feedstock used in the production was derived from parcels of land under common ownership or leasehold.”
Latest court filings dispute Bath biodigester s utility status fairborndailyherald.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from fairborndailyherald.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Xenia man sentenced for rape
Schirmer
XENIA A Xenia man was sentenced to 22 to 25 years in prison Feb. 12 for rape.
Shawn Schirmer, 32, pleaded guilty to two counts of rape and two counts of sexual battery in Greene County Common Pleas Court Friday, according to the Greene County Prosecutor’s Office. Visiting Judge William H. Wolff Jr. then sentenced Schirmer.
The crimes, which involved a minor child victim, occurred in Xenia. Xenia Police Division handled the case.
Schirmer befriended and groomed the child before the two engaged in numerous acts of sexual conduct, the prosecutor’s office said.
The defendant also gave marijuana to the child in exchange for the acts. Their relationship continued for several months until the child’s parents became suspicious.