HARVEYSBURG — After weeks of heat from residents, Village Council has approved a court action that could soon empty a house occupied by troubled teens.

        At least temporarily.

        The complaint, which could be filed today in Warren County Common Pleas Court, alleges that property owner Paul Brothers and Ar izona-based Teen Reach are improperly running a group home for troubled teen-agers in a residential zone and without an occupancy permit.

        As many as 14 teens live at the home along with supervisors, according to the state fire marshal's office and neighbors.

        A temporary restraining order emptying the house could be issued at a hearing in a matter of weeks if a judge chooses, while the request for a permanent injunction works through the courts.

        “We'll argue that because there's no valid occupancy permit, they shouldn't be using the house at all,” village solicitor Pat Long said.

        Also, the state education department has refused to recognize Teen Reach as a nonchartered, nontax-supported school, a spokesman said Wednesday. Teen Reach officials missed the September deadline.

        The agency is investigating Teen Reach, as is the state Department of Job and Family Services, which con tends the program is required to be licensed as a group home.

        The fire marshal has cited Mr. Brothers and Teen Reach's Ramon and Erica Flores because the house does not meet safety requirements for a group home — citations they are appealing.

        The Rev. Bobby Torres, founder and president of Teen Reach, says the program is not a group home but rather a religious-based program. By trying to regulate it, he and Mr. Brothers say, government officials are impinging on participants' constitutional freedom of religion.

        Harveysburg residents remained skeptical Tuesday that the village's court complaint will end the problem.

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