 The 280-acre parcel, located just west of Lincoln and about a mile
east of the former limestone quarry, is owned by Douglas Muck and
his sister, Kaellyn Arch.
Several neighbors opposed allowing mining in the area and hired
lawyers to represent them during the review processes. Adjacent
acreage supports livestock and crop production. Of major concern to
the farmers was the amount of water that the mining operation would
require; groundwater could be depleted and their wells could run
dry.
Beginning in September 2012, the matter went before the Logan
County Regional Planning Commission, zoning board of appeals and
finally the county board. Around 20 hours of arguments were publicly
aired, often becoming heated between laid-off miners, the landowner
and the farmers.
On Dec. 19, 2012, the Logan County Board approved the request
with a vote of 10-1 to rezone from agriculture, special district to
Manufacturing - 3, which permits extraction.
The adjourned board meeting was held in the third-floor courtroom
of the Logan County Courthouse in order to accommodate the large
number of people interested in the decision, which was the largest
public interest in recent history. There appeared to be near equal
numbers interested in both sides of the matter present.
The rezoning process includes completion of a standard list of
permitting and requirements specific to mining, such as
environmental impact studies. There would also need to be township
road agreements and the like in place before building permits would
be issued and mining activity could begin.
To date, zoning officer Will D'Andrea said that since the time
the board had approved the rezoning, he had received no further
information toward the requirements that must be met.
As standard practice for any rezoning decision, adjacent property
owners were provided a 120-day window to appeal the board's
decision.
On March 18, 2013, Stephen and Pamela Schreiner, who farm and
live across the road from where the quarry would be located, filed a
civil complaint at the Logan County Courthouse.
From that time forward, numerous items were placed on file in the
civil case.
In June, August, September and October, hearings were held on
motions that had been filed without actually getting closer to the
target topic, or the "discovery" phase, when the zoning issues would
be discussed. The last hearing, held before Judge William Yoder on
Wednesday, Oct. 9, in the third-floor courtroom, was to discuss
jurisdiction and sanctions.
Complicating matters, the Schreiners' lawyer, George Mueller,
dropped the case in September without prior notification to the
Schreiners. Attorney Stephen Hedinger of Sorling Northrup in
Springfield stepped in just this month.
[to top of second column] |
An issue of "jurisdiction" related to the initial summons to
Kaellyn Arch was discussed at length. Due to some misplaced
paperwork, Arch was not served her summons within the proper time
frame.
The matter of "sanctions" was not gotten to on Wednesday.
After 45 minutes, with much of the time spent on the faulty
summons and its impact on jurisdiction, and several thwarted
attempts to move matters forward, Judge Yoder shook his head, sighed
and then took a long moment to review, as he stated, the already
"voluminous" case file filled with "numerous pleadings and
memorandums," which also included special limited-interest motions.
When he looked up, Yoder stated, "We're not going to do this
piecemeal." He declared all previous court orders dismissed. He
added, "We are going to wait until all parties are present to move
forward with this case." He asked that new motions be filed, new
summonses issued to the parties involved, and said that this would
move forward with a clean slate.
The parties involved are as follows:
Plaintiffs/Petitioners:
- Stephen and Pamela Schreiner, represented by Stephen
Hedinger of Sorling Northrup, Springfield
Defendants/Respondents:
-
Douglas Muck and
Kaellyn Arch, represented by Laurie Muck and himself, Douglas
Muck
-
The people of Logan
County, represented by State's Attorney Jonathan Wright
-
The Logan County Board, also
represented by State's Attorney Jonathan Wright
The date for the next hearing would be set when all parties could
be present and motions on file.
[LDN]
Articles on rezoning
request from 2012:
 |
