A lawsuit pending before Warren Circuit Court could affect the health, safety and well being of Plano community citizens for years in the future.

The complaint filed against the City-County Planning Commission and JAB Holdings is in opposition to the rezoning of land on Plano-Richpond Road from Agricultural to Residential. JAB filed for rezoning to build a subdivision with 65 homes on a 70-acre tract at 964 Plano-Richpond Road, purchased at auction earlier this year. The Planning Commission approved the rezoning on June 15 despite strong opposition from Plano citizens. (A petition signed by 120 Plano citizens and testimony of six residents.)

Why this matters to the Plano Community: The proposed development is on land filled with sink holes, a natural cave system, Native American hunting grounds and a construction waste landfill. It borders one of the most dangerous stretches of roadway in Warren County.

Fighting the powerful Bowling Green political machine has been an uphill battle. Plano residents are not a bunch of country bumpkins to be run over roughshod by downtown politicians and bureaucrats. They deserve better.

If Planning Commission elites had done their job, you would not be reading this. They ignored citizen complaints about illegal dumping and improper zoning to the detriment of Plano citizens and others. This Commission has little oversight and questionable credibility with many citizens. “You can’t fight City Hall.” “You’re wasting your time.” “Their minds are already made up” … are some of the comments citizens heard.

The commission has been in existence since 1966 with practically no restraint nor accountability. Perhaps it’s time for some changes to restore credibility and fairness to the rezoning process.

This is not to say there are not some good people working in the trenches. There are.

It’s not coincidental that one of the JAB developers is a member of the Planning Commission Board. That surely had no bearing on their rezoning approval? By the way, how many farmers sit on the 12-member Planning Commission?

Warren Fiscal Court last August also voted predjudically against Plano citizens 6-0 in an appeal to overturn Planning and Zoning action. Another short-sighted move and travesty of justice. They missed the point and they don’t care. This development was ill-conceived from the beginning.

Well, there are other ways of making money off the land. They can always go back to raising cattle like the previous land owner did. 

But the Planning Commission dropped the ball. They also missed the point! And they dont care! When you fill sinkholes with asphalt waste, what do you get? Toxic materials (benzene, toluene, carbon dioxide, sulphur dioxide and others) in our groundwater which ends up in our drinking water through our karst topography. Not a good idea. Ask the Environmental Protection Agency. And we will.

Evidence is incontrovertible through Google Earth photographs and personal knowledge of nearby residents.

Hopefully, the court will allow citizens to present this evidence at a hearing.

Commission engineers testified that sinkholes are not a problem. They can be mitigated … whatever that means. If you believe that, remember the Corvette Museum, Dishman Lane and most recently the Transpark. There are at least 15 documented sinkholes on this property, none of which were shown on Planning Commission maps.

Planning Commission failed to follow their own guidelines under something they call the Future Land Use Management doctrine (FLUM), a buzz word for “we’ll do whatever we want in the best interests of land developers, real estate agents and home builders.”

Notably, their failure to require a traffic impact study; soil suitability for septic systems; prime farmland designation; cultural or historical features; and most importantly protecting the health, safety and welfare of citizens (one of the Commission’s key principles).

The Commission was warned about environmental problems on numerous occasions … but complaints fell on deaf ears. They did nothing! Now, dozens of potential homeowners are facing the unknown when building residences on land full of sinkholes and toxic construction waste. Who would do that?

— Robert Davenport is a Plano citizen and one of the leaders of the effort to overturn the rezoning.