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AKRON - An injunction against Akron zoning was denied by Fulton Circuit Court Judge Douglas Morton.
Charlotte Hammond, who filed the injunction, was informed of the judge's decision Friday. She said she was disappointed but "we tried our best and lost." The possibility of further action was not dismissed, but Hammond did not comment on the issue because her attorney, Richard Helm of Warsaw, was out of town.
Hammond based her action on the improprieties of the make-up of the plan commission, a lack of a budget for 1997 and 1998, the failure to have an office location, and the failure to have public records available for public viewing.
Hammond's primary complaint was the group's violation of Indiana's "Open Door" policy, which provides access to records and other documents pertaining to the commission's meetings,
Judge Morton ruled that then-chairman of the Akron town council, Phil Allen, had the power to appoint four citizen members of the commission with the council choosing the remaining members.
Morton said there were no limitations to consult with the other council members on the appointments. He also said that the members in the two-mile radius, Donna Loer and Mike Summe, were properly appointed. The appointment of Marty Gearhart, who lives outside the two-mile radius but is the town superintendent, was also ruled appropriate.
On the ruling on the budget, Morton ruled that it was not a "fatal flaw in the organization." He said that "government accountings for private donations and anonymous gifts are as stringent as for tax funds. Unless these funds are maintained in their own accounts subject to public scrutiny, the court can foresee the day that ugly questions concerning their usage will arise."
On the Open Door Law, the judge ruled the Town of Akron complied with the act, attempted to respond to requests in a timely matter and did not intentionally violate the law.
Morton also ruled that the two-mile area has been challenged before and has been consistently upheld in the Indiana Court of Appeals and by the Indiana Supreme Court. He said "growing population centers must have the ability to control the development of the land around them to avoid hideous developmental problems in conjunction with typical annexation questions."
He added that "the primary concern, of course, is that those outside the jurisdiction are unable to vote for the town leaders and that their representation in the decision zone and nature of the zoning of their property seems to be beyond their control.The Indiana policy to deal with this concern is to provide that their elected leaders at the county level appoint participants from that jurisdictional area to represent those specific interests."
