Washington County Quorum Court to hire outside attorney in Greenland wedding venue case

FAYETTEVILLE -- The Washington County Quorum Court will look into hiring an outside attorney before moving forward in a case involving a proposed wedding venue near Greenland.

Justice of the Peace Ann Harbison, the ordinance's sponsor, made the motion during the Quorum Court meeting Thursday night to table the decision to appeal a circuit court judge's mandate or to approve a permit for the venue.

The proposed 6,900-square-foot venue would be at 5241 Shaeffer Road near the West Fork of the White River.

The Quorum Court voted 10-2, with Justice of the Peace Tom Lundstrum abstaining because of a self-cited conflict of interest, to table the decision and pay for an outside attorney to come in and see if it is worth appealing.

If that attorney deems it's worth it to appeal, the board would then go forward with that person representing them.

Landowner Terry Presley has been seeking approval for his venue since November 2016. He needs a waiver because his 7 acres is zoned for agriculture and single-family residential use. County planning staff members recommended approving the project, the Planning Board approved it and the Quorum Court denied it.

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Terry's sister, Vickie Presley-Hassell, said they're hopeful but this decision means more waiting.

Terry Presley said, "I was surprised when they denied it a year ago. I'm more surprised that they are questioning the judge's order."

Before the vote, three of Presley's neighbors spoke to the court against allowing the event venue, saying a commercial venture in the neighborhood would impair the enjoyment of their property.

County attorney Brian Lester said he could take the appeal on but if he did, his day-to-day duties would have to take a back seat. He agreed with the court's decision to seek outside counsel.

Harbison said in regards to her motion, "I'm not attacking Mr. Lester, I'm just saying that he doesn't have the experience that an experienced lawyer would have. If we appeal it and just to the same thing, we are going to get the same results. I think this is a very bad precedent for the Planning Board and this court, because it basically says we have no authority."

Many justices of the peace expressed opinions to not make the Presleys or their neighbors wait any longer for a decision. Some expressed a desire to move forward with the appeal, troubled by the precedent this might set for similar future instances.

A couple justices of the peace were for accepting the judge's ruling that overturned the Quorum Court's initial decision.

Justice of the Peace Butch Pond said the court shouldn't be spending money on an outside attorney and should honor the decision of the Pulaski County Circuit Judge Mackie M. Pierce, who granted a summary judgment last month in favor of Presley. Today's meeting is the court's first since the ruling.

"I'm troubled we have people here criticizing what that judge did in court," Justice of the Peace Butch Pond said. "I don't think that every single case that comes through here that the landowner is going to decide to appeal to court. In this case, these folks did, and it's in their heart. They have a fire in the belly. They want to develop this and have a little business out there even though we turned it down."

Pierce ordered the permit be issued, saying in part, the Quorum Court's decision was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable."

Pierce's decision was partly made because the county didn't refute affidavits Presley's attorney provided from former Planning Director Juliet Richey and current Senior Planner Nathan Crouch, according to the judge's March 13 order.

The county submitted every document the Planning Department had, including transcripts and email, Lester said. Those transcripts show the Planning Board didn't rule unanimously to approve the project and staff questioned if the use of the property was compatible with the neighborhood.

"Being accused of being arbitrary and capricious and unprofessional, that bothered me. That judge had no idea of the research that we had done," Justice of the Peace Lisa Ecke said. "We here were elected by the people to make the best decision for them on their behalf. In my opinion, the judge did not take that into consideration. The needs of the many outweigh the need of the one. Overwhelming, everybody was against it save one: the landowner."

NW News on 04/20/2018

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