Community Corner

Kent Man Wins Appeal to Zoning Board Decision

Merle Kuhns Jr. looks to sell property despite getting judge to overturn Kent Board of Zoning Appeals ruling

Merle Kuhns Jr. fought the city of Kent and won — sort of.

Since 2007, the Kent Board of Zoning Appeals has repeatedly blocked Kuhns' plans to build a garage at his Middlebury Road residence to house his hauling company's dump truck.

Kuhns appealed the decisions to Portage County Common Pleas Court, and a judge overturned the zoning board's denial of a variance that would have permitted construction of the garage. The city then appealed the judge's ruling, and Kuhns won that appeal, too, in October.

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The courts ruled that members of the zoning board took into account factors "that were far beyond the specific criteria" outlined in Kent's zoning codes when they denied Kuhns' request, according to court records. The courts ruled the zoning board's reasoning for denying the variance was "arbitrary and capricious."

Yet Kuhns is far from happy about the situation. Winning the right to build a storage building for his truck did not come cheap. The four-year battle cost him an estimated $12,000 in legal fees.  And Kuhns said the city won't be reimbursing him for those court costs.

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"I'm done with the city," Kuhns said.

Kuhns bought the property at 1296 Middlebury Road from his aging parents, Marlene and Merle Kuhns Sr., in 2003 so he could help take care of them. His dad has since died. And now the Kuhns find themselves ready to move on and sell the property that's been in their family for generations.

And the city happens to be one interested buyer.

The Kuhns family has owned the property for so long they actually owned the land that Middlebury Road sits on in front of the house. The city has right-of-way rights to the road. But the Kuhns still own a piece of land on the east side of Middlebury, close to the Cuyahoga River, that was separated from the original property by construction of the road.

The Kent Parks and Recreation Department has been in talks with the family for about five years to buy that sliver of property, which is located directly in front of a concrete boat ramp that provides river access just north of the Middlebury Road bridge.

John Idone, Kent Parks and Recreation director, said the parks department is interested in the Kuhns' land on the east side of the road because the department wants to expand public river access.

But the Kuhns believe their property extends all the way to the river's bank and includes the boat ramp, which Kuhns' grandfather helped install as a member of the Kent Boat Club in the 1960s. Merle Kuhns feels that if the city wants that property, they should have to buy his entire lot to get it.

Idone said land surveys show the city owns the boat ramp and the property along the river. He said the parks department doesn't need the Kuhns' house and other acreage – just the sliver of land in front of the boat ramp. And the city doesn't have the funds to buy Kuhns' entire property, Idone said.

The parks department had offered to name the park area by the boat ramp in honor of the family in exchange for donating the land, Idone said.

But the Kuhns say that's little comfort when their basement sewer drains back up and flood the house with sewage because a sewer lift station installed on their property by the city overflows during heavy storms.

“I want to push them to buy me out," Kuhns said. "They can buy my home, they can buy everything, and I’ll just go away.”

The boat ramp area is already used by the public for fishing and boating during warmer months. And the parks department even uses the area during the annual Black Squirrel Triathlon.

Negotiations between the Kuhns family and the city over the property have stalled. Kuhns said he's ready to sell.

“I don’t think I’m going to put a building up," he said. "I’m going to push for them to buy me out.”

But Idone remains hopeful they can reach an agreement for the land by the river.


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