Special Judge Patrick Blankenship has made yet another ruling in the heated case regarding a structure that was ordered to be removed before June 1 but was never taken down. Walter and Julia Ford were ordered to appear in court to argue why they should not be held in contempt of court for not removing the structure.
The Starke County Board of Zoning Appeals met in special session last night.
The board voted to uphold a ruling made by Special Judge Patrick Blankenship that requires Julia Ford to tear down a building that has been the subject of public scrutiny and a lawsuit. They extended the deadline date from June 1 to June 15 and adjourned the meeting.
The ongoing debate between Betty and George Dotlich and Julia Ford seems to have come to a conclusion, as Patrick Blankenship, special judge with the Starke Circuit Court, ruled that the Starke County Board of Zoning Appeals failed to follow proper procedure, allowed ex parte communication, and made a decision unsupported by substantial evidence.
The case came to light when Julia Ford of Starke County purchased a used manufactured commercial office structure that had been certified in Illinois and applied for a permit to convert it to a single-family residence, which the BZA approved on Jan. 11, 2012. Petitioners George and Betty Dotlich, James and Linda Siroky, and Anthony and Jane Standifer own real estate adjacent to Ford’s residence.
