tac article on lawsuit

Tallahassee group files lawsuit
Wednesday, 16 July 2008
Tallahassee Area Community, Inc. (TAC), has filed a Rule 106 lawsuit against the Fremont County Commissioners.



Publish Date: 7/16/2008 Page: A1
Tallahassee group files lawsuit


Debbie Bell
The Daily Record
Uranium exploration in the Tallahassee area entered the legal arena last week when Tallahassee Area Community, Inc., filed a Rule 106 lawsuit against the Fremont County Commissioners.
The matter has been assigned to District Judge David Thorson’s courtroom. No hearing date has been set.
The motion is an appeal of the county’s decision June 9 to allow Black Range Minerals, an Australian mining company, to prospect for uranium on the Taylor and Boyer Ranches in the Tallahassee area. The controversial decision followed months of discussion and several public hearings.
“We believe the commissioners abused their authority by approving the Conditional Use Permit and allowing an Australian company to explore for uranium within 500 feet of 44 land and homeowners,” Kay Hawklee, also named as plaintiff in the action, said Tuesday morning. “There are major reasons why we believe that they have exceeded their authority.”
Central to the lawsuit is the organization’s claim the CUP is inconsistent with the county’s own Master Plan.
“The strategy of the Master Plan says the primary non-agricultural land use will be residential,” Hawklee said. “I do not understand how they can get around the word primary. There has been so much growth in this area. What has happened is the residential has been established here, and now to allow uranium prospecting is a violation of the vision of the Master Plan.”
The action also cites the lack of proof of adequate water for the project, an incomplete fire plan, the possibility of water cross contamination and lack of proof that surrounding property values will not be hurt.
“No property has sold in this area since October 2007,” Hawklee said. “That goes above and beyond any kind of economic problems in the country. Properties are not selling here because of the stigma that has been attached to our area.”
County Attorney Brenda Jackson said the Rule 106 is an avenue to appeal the decision of an administrative body, such as the Fremont County Commissioners.
“There will be no new trial, no new evidence,” Jackson said Tuesday. “The district court will determine of the record and evidence in the record supported the board’s decision.”
Although the appeal was filed July 9 by Denver attorney Michael Meyrick, who also owns property in the Tallahassee area, Jackson said the county still is waiting to be officially served with the lawsuit.
Jackson said she anticipates a lengthy process to prepare documents for the court record, including transcripts of commissioner and planning commission meetings and public hearings, testimony, e-mails, letters, the full CUP application, rulings of the board in reaching its findings, and everything related to the case that has been accumulated by the Planning and Zoning Department.
She said the first hearing would not be scheduled for some time, and estimated the county will enter 1,500 to 2,000 pages of documentation into the record, before the transcripts are added.
“I don’t know how lengthy the transcripts will be, but there was an eight-hour public hearing,” Jackson said. “That’s going to be quite a bit.”
She said Thorson’s decision will be based on written arguments and the amassed information.
“There will be no more testimony,” Jackson said. “He’ll rule based on what has been submitted.”
The lawsuit asks for no financial damages. Instead, the plaintiffs want reversal of the CUP and remanding the matter back to the commissioners for reconsideration of the issue.
“I think this was filed because there are a number of citizens in the county who think their issues weren’t addressed properly by the county commissioners,” Meyrick said.

Can't see this getting up.
cheers
Egap