LEBANON — Six Deerfield Township residents who live next to the proposed site of Mason's 175-foot water tower have asked to join the township's lawsuit against the city to stop construction.

TIMELINE

Dec. 11, 1999: Mason buys 6 acres on Mason Road in Deerfield Township for $385,000 and announces it will build a water tower on the site.     Dec. 16, 1999: Deerfield Township trustees file a lawsuit in Warren County Common Pleas Court to appropriate the 6 acres by eminent domain for use as a fire station or a park.     Sept. 4, 2000: Mason City Council approves two contracts worth $2.5 million for the design and construction of the water tower, despite the pending eminent domain lawsuit.     Dec. 21, 2000: Warren County Common Pleas Judge Neal Bronson rules that Deerfield Township trustees cannot seize the 6 acres for public use, calling the township's need “manufactured.”     January 2001: Deerfield trustees file for an appeal.     Feb. 26, 2001: Deerfield Township Zoning Commission rejects Mason's request for approval of site plans for the water tower.     March 5, 2001: Mason acquires building permits from Warren County and announces plans to proceed with construction of the tower without Deerfield Township's zoning approval.     March 19, 2001: Deerfield Township Trustees file for a temporary restraining order to stop construction of the tower.

        Jack Greiner, a Cincinnati lawyer representing the homeowners, Friday filed a motion to intervene and motions for a temporary restraining order and permanent injunction. Township residents Ron and Karen Willard, Robert and Sarah Dunn and Randall and Lora Hutchinson were named as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.

        The motions were entered during a hearing in Warren County Common Pleas Judge P. Daniel Fedders' courtroom on Deerfield's request for a temporary restraining order. The township wants the court to order Mason to follow Deerfield's zoning approval process and stop construction.

        Mason wants to build a 2-million-gallon water tower on a 6-acre parcel it owns on Mason Road in Deerfield Township. The $2.5 million tower is designed to improve water pressure for the city's south service areaand reduce the demand on the Shaker Creek Aquifer.

        The homeowners' suit claims that by building a water tower on the site, city officials would be violating a clause in the deed stating the land can only be used for homes or farming.

        Mason Law Director Ken Schneider said he doesn't think the homeowners should be allowed to intervene in the township's lawsuit because their grounds for complaint are separate and different.

        “I think the law is clearly in our favor on this matter and I'm confident the judge will rule that way,” Mr. Schneider said. “The township has desperately conjured up arguments that turn clear statements (of law) on their head.”

        Judge Fedders gave all parties until 4 p.m. Monday to file responses, supplemental arguments and an agreed stipulation of facts pertaining to the case. He said he hopes to rule on whether to grant a temporary restraining order by Wednesday.
       
       

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