Lawsuit involving demolition of rectory dismissed

CHILLICOTHE – A lawsuit involving the demolition of the St. Mary Church rectory on South Paint Street has been dismissed, according to court records.

The case, which was filed in Ross County Common Pleas Court last spring by three local historical preservation groups, claimed the city’s Design Review Board failed to consider criteria in a city ordinance when determining whether to approve the demolition.

Columbus attorney J. Jeffrey McNealey filed the suit on behalf of three preservationist organizations: the South Central Ohio Preservation group, the Chillicothe Conservancy and the Chillicothe Restoration Foundation, who were represented by Robert Etling, William Hirsch and Franklin Conaway, respectively.

The rectory, which once stood at 69 S. Paint St., was razed in April 2014 to make way for a parking lot next to the church as part of $3.1 million in renovations to the downtown campus. The structure had been vacant since 2005.

The suit also alleged that the applicant seeking the demolition, Mike Haller, on behalf of St. Mary Church, failed to submit evidence under the city’s Planning and Zoning Code and Historic Design Review District ordinance. In addition, it also alleged that Haller failed to meet one or more of the conditions required in the application for demolition.

However, court records show the lawsuit was officially dismissed July 9 by Ross County Common Pleas Judge Michael Ater. City Law Director Sherri Rutherford filed a motion to dismiss last summer in the case and noted that the city acted properly in its procedure involving the demolition of the rectory.

Rutherford said the church had filed paperwork to tear down the rectory and went through the Design Review Board, which eventually approved the demolition before being signed off by Mayor Jack Everson. Rutherford said the groups who sued the city “didn’t file an injunction to make it stop.”

“By the time we got to court, it was a done deal because it was knocked (down),” Rutherford said. “It went through the process.”

McNealey did not respond to a request for comment by deadline.