NORTH CANTON CELL TOWER HEARING: OVERDONE WITH LAW DIRECTOR TIM FOX

REVISED & UPDATED:  SATURDAY 4:00 PM

VIDEOS

The Swearing-In

TowerCo Case
Engr Pitchure & Atty Matthews

FirstFriends Case
Atty Moore

Montabella Estate Case
Atty Violand

Having Their Say
Six Montabella Area Residents

Canton's Case for Non-Approval
Burns of Canton Law Department

Matthews (TowerCo) Rebuttal

First Friends Official Testimony

TowerCo Official Testimony

North Canton Planning Commission
Final Decision

The Stark County Political Report has "no dog in the fight" over whether or not Verizon should be permitted to have a cell tower built by Tower Company (a 10 leaseholder) on property owned by First Friends Church at 55th Street NW and Market Avenue, North within North Canton city limits.

SCPR NOTE: 

For those readers who are interested in the legal arguments of those contending on the issue of whether or not the North Canton Planning Commission should recommend to North Canton City Council the allowance of a conditional use permit see documents appended to this blog at the end thereof.  LINK  to website that attempts to summarize issues at play on cell tower construction.

So upon the North Canton Planning Commission (members of which are - according to the city charter - appointed by Mayor David Held) voted 4 to 1 to "recommend" that North Canton government (city council has the final say) issue the applicant company a conditional use permit to build a 140 foot tower, The Report has no reaction other than Law Director Fox's seeming inappropriate role in the proceedings as detailed more fully below.

What does interest yours truly is the manner in which the hearing was handled in terms of all interested parties being provided adequate opportunity to present the respective cases within a free-speech-friendly-environment.

On Tuesday (December 8, 2015), the SCPR wrote (LINK) about concerns that North Canton law director Tim Fox would once again try to stifle interested Stark Countians (which in this case means residents in the Canton Montabella neighborhood which is adjacent to the tower locale) as The Report thinks he has on many, many, many matters (principally public records requests) whereby North Canton citizens have sought access to North Canton government.

Here are a couple of statements reported in the local media going into the hearing:

And here is the Tuesday blog articulation of yours truly's concerns:

So what is The Report takeaway from Wednesday night's session?

In a nutshell, Tim Fox was once again Tim Fox.

Note in the videos included in this blog (see Video Appendix below) how often Fox inserts himself into proceedings.

The Report's understanding is that a municipality's legal council does not general participate in Planning Commission meetings.

The SCPR questions why Fox was involved at all in Wednesday's proceeding and, moreover,  the appropriateness of Fox weighing as it appears to yours truly he did in favor of approval of the TowerCo application.

One of the strongest arguments for the opponents of approval of the issuance of a conditional use permit - The Report thinks - was the obligation the law seems to impose on the likes of TowerCo to use co-location of cell towers on structures such as existing water towers.

The SCPR's take was that Matthews completely missed covering that point only to be bailed out by Law Director Fox in Matthews' case in rebuttal.

Readers interested in this latter point should focus on the Matthews rebuttal video which can be viewed in the Video Appendix below.

Readers should remember that the role of the Planning Commission is to "recommend" approval.  North Canton City Council is the final determiner of the issue subject of course to being overriden by a court of law.

Advising North Canton City Council is in the opinion of the SCPR for Fox to weigh in; not as an active participant in the hearing itself.

The Report moreover thinks (and this is yours truly's primary focus):

• the somewhat dramatic theater quality of the en masse taking of the oath,

• Fox's oft-repeated inquiry of those witnesses who did step forward to address the commission as to whether or not they were under oath 

had a "chilling effect" on the many who took the mass group oath in terms of their actually following through with comments and/or testimony.

Only seven everyday citizens (including an official from First Friends Church) participated.

Here is a video of the swearing-in.



For the most part, Fox's fixation on "the oath thing" seemed irrelevant inasmuch it appears to The Report that much of the input was mere opinion which of course is not properly expressed under oath.

Fox during the hearing would from time-to-time, disingenuously, the SCPR thinks - say "but you are not required to be under oath."

How confusing can one get?

Moreover, Fox repeatedly admonished the commission members as what their role was in coming to a recommendation to North Canton City Council and how their determination was to be framed.

So what of it?

To the SCPR, it was in effect Law Director Tim Fox saying "I am charge" and you - members - must do as I say.

It is as if the commission members do not know "A" from "B."

Fox's self-assumed role was tantamount to himself inserting himself as a "super-commission-member."

His mission?

To hamstring the commission and thereby tie it up into a knot-like fashion so as to appear to be fumbling and bumbling in search of direction that only Tim Fox can provide.

The SCPR in conversation with a North Canton community person post-hearing mused that Fox taking charge on Wednesday night had to have been grounded in a Held/Fox confab as how to keep the hearing from getting out of control.

Just another manifestation of how utterly overbearing this law director is and his being such all with the blessing of North Canton City Council and Mayor David Held.

A case is to be made that Held and council have abrogated their responsibilities as North Canton elected officials to the "un-elected Law Director Tim Fox."

Isn't that interesting?

Fox's commandeering of Wednesday night's hearing only added to the notion that Tim Fox and North Canton government are interchangeable terms.

Shame on North Canton City Council.

And shame on Mayor David Held.

APPENDIXES

Video (first) & Documentary (second)

VIDEO APPENDIX

Pitchure and Matthews
For TowerCo



Moore for FirstFriends



Violand for Montabella



Six Montabella Area Residents Comments



Canton Case Against Approval
Including Cross-exam by Matthews



Matthews (TowerCo) rebuttal



(Note:  This video in which Law Director Fox is shown to have stepped in big time in an interventionist way - The Report thinks - and perhaps thereby tilted the commission's ultimate determination in favor of TowerCo)

FirstFriends Trustee Testimony



TOWERCO OFFICIAL TESTIMONY



THE DECISION




DOCUMENTARY APPENDIX

APPLICATION PDF FILE



CANTON CITY COUNCIL CASE DOCUMENTS
(WARD 8 COUNCILMAN & ATTORNEY EDMOND MACK)






CANTON CITY ATTORNEY BURNS LETTER TO TOWER CO. ATTORNEY



TOWER CO ATTORNEY (MATTHEWS) RESPONSE LETTER



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