Court clears way for Rumpke to double landfill

Rumpke plans to proceed with plans to double its landfill operation on Struble Road after a judge ruled in favor of the company in its zoning dispute with Colerain Township.

Visiting Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas Judge Lee H. Hildebrandt Jr. released his ruling Tuesday, saying the zoning of roughly 350 acres is "unconstitutional beyond fair debate. It denies Plaintiffs of all economically viable use of the land and the zoning designation does not substantially advance a legitimate government interest."

Rumpke attorney Joseph Trauth said the company is planning to proceed with its expansion, that would double its size and extend the life of the landfill by 50 years.

Colerain Township trustees Jeff Ritter and Dennis Deters said it's likely the township will appeal.

"This is an extremely sad day for Colerain Township," Ritter said. "The judge has sentenced the township to 50 more years of landfill operation and its negative effects and consequences for our residents and development."

Hildebrandt's ruling says the evidence establishes that there are no economically viable uses of the property as it is currently zoned.

Hildebrandt's ruling said the evidence establishes that it is better to expand an existing landfill than to create a new one. Expanding an existing landfill limits the number of landfill sites and allows the larger landfill to hold more waste in a smaller area. It says a sanitary landfill is a reasonable and proper use of the property and that the proposed light industrial use to house Rumpke's offices is reasonable.

The township has 45 days to zone the property to the solid waste disposal/light industrial use proposed by Rumpke, the ruling states. If the property is not zoned as proposed within 45 days, Rumpke may commence reasonable and proper use of the property "including expansion of the landfill," according to the ruling.

Rumpke filed suit against Colerain Township after the township rejected its 2006 plan to expand to the east of its landfill location, effectively doubling the size of the landfill.

Rumpke officials took that decision to court. The waste company claimed the landfill was a public utility and as such, was exempt from the control of township zoning. The second challenge claimed the township's current zoning of light industrial and residential does not allow them a viable economic use for their property, and is therefore unconstitutional.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled against Rumpke on the public utility question, but the case over the constitutionality of the township's zoning began in September. Hildebrandt's ruling was filed Monday.

"The court was 100 percent right: we believe the zoning was put in place to prevent the Rumpke landfill from expanding," Rumpke attorney Trauth said. "There was no research or economic study done to support the zoning.”

Deters said he was disappointed with the ruling and said it clearly tells the community it has very little control over what happens to it. "It's evident that there is more concern over what is good for the county than what is good for Colerain Township," he said.

"The judgement did not even give the township the opportunity to rezone, but rather ordered us to live with another 50 years of landfill," Ritter said

Colerain Township has a special meeting set for 4 p.m. Oct. 28 in the Colerain Township administration complex, 4200 Springdale Road. The board of trustees plans to go immediately into executive session to discuss pending litigation. Officials said they plan to take no action at that meeting.

Colerain Township resident Matt Tietsort said the ruling isn't really a surprise, but the fact that it seems to imply that expanding landfills is preferable to building new ones can't be good news for Colerain Township. "Hard to say where that would stop," he said. "I am assuming the township will appeal the decision, and once it is appealed, that could lead to another settlement offer."

Trauth said a settlement may be considered.

“We attempted to settle with the trustees and the trustees voted the offer down,” Trauth said. “We may be open to continuing those settlement talks in the future.”