The township today agreed to drop the charge against Darren Powlette as his trial in the misdemeanor case was scheduled to start in Miamisburg Municipal Court.
The judge agreed to drop the case as long as Powlette stops advertising Stoney Hill farm as a bed and breakfast.
INITIAL REPORT:
A trial is set to begin today for a wedding venue owner accused of operating a business that violated Miami Twp. zoning codes.
The case involving Stoney Hill Bed and Breakfast operator Darren Powlette is scheduled in Miamisburg Municipal Court, records show.
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Powlette, 50, pleaded not guilty in May to a misdemeanor criminal charge alleging that the Upper Miamisburg Road venue violated a permitted use in an agriculturally zoned district.
The charge stems from an incident on April 19, according to court records. A neighbor called authorities after he said members of a wedding party entered his property and petted his horses before his wife told them to leave.
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Powlette contends the township had no jurisdiction in the matter because his business is qualified to operate under the Ohio Revised Code’s agritourism guidelines. He appealed to the Miami Twp. Board of Zoning Appeals.
This summer, the township BZA ruled the venue’s “activities do not satisfy the definition of agritourism under” the ORC. The township decision came after a July 9 hearing lasting more than three hours and involving testimony from Powlette, the township and about 10 individuals, most who whom opposed the business.
Powlette has challenged the township’s decision with a filing in Montgomery County court.
MORE COVERAGE OF THIS ISSUE:
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