Neighbors fighting Bradley Bay decision
By Eric J. Eakin
Bay Village
Published March 23, 2005

"We are going to court."

So says Gerald Phillips, lawyer for the group of residents fighting a planned expansion of the Bradley Bay Health Center (BBHC).

The group's decision to sue comes on the heels of a vote by the board of zoning appeals (BZA) two weeks ago to approve a request from BBHC owner John O'Neill for a special-use permit for independent-living suites that will be included in the $7-million expansion planned for land adjacent to the existing center.

That vote effectively gave O'Neill the right to submit the project to the city to begin the usual approval process.

"We are going to appeal the BZA decision," Phillips said. "We think it's a travesty.

"It was apparent at the BZA meeting that they had made up their minds prior to the public hearing. It was an orchestrated, pre-arranged deal. The board didn't listen to the comments of the residents, many of whom I thought were excellent.

"It's a shame they (BZA) ignored the information and wiped out the city council's and the planning commission's decisions," he said.

Both city council and the planning commission had earlier voted against the project. The opposition, however, was based on the fact that the new building contained what the city considered too many independent-living suites, making the new structure more of an apartment building than nursing home.

The BZA's approval of a special-use permit, however, trumps those earlier votes.

Phillips said the group planned to file the appeal with the Court of Common Pleas by the April 9 deadline.

"We also may file a taxpayer action and an injunction action against the city in the Common Pleas Court," Phillips said. "They (BZA) completely ignored the law."

"I've been fighting expansion of this business for 40 years and they cut off the discussion before I could tell them what I think," said Ethel Hansen of the recent hearing held by the BZA. "I thought this was supposed to be a public hearing. It was a kangaroo court. The fix was in."

"Naturally we are disappointed," Phillips said in the press release. "We made valid legal arguments and the Bay law director even offered to provide the board with a legal analysis of our view, but they declined. It was clear they were not interested in what we had to say."

Neighbor Alex Dade said in an e-mail to the city council and Mayor Deborah Sutherland that his outrage wasn't with the board's conclusion but with their process. He said the group's phone calls and e-mails to the board members went largely unanswered. He also said Phillips' legal brief was ignored by the board, who "rushed to a vote."

Dade urged the mayor and city council members to "publish a public censure of the BZA for the outrageous treatment of the public at the Thursday meeting."