A local construction company has been ordered by a judge to stop using a 14-acre site along State Road 11 north of Seymour to store and recycle natural materials until at least Dec. 27.
Jackson Superior Court I Judge AmyMarie Travis issued that ruling against BP2 Construction LLC on Thursday.
The decision came at the request of the city, which contends BP2 has been performing work at the site in the 2300 block of North State Road 11 in violation of the Seymour Board of Zoning Appeals’ Dec. 15, 2020, decision to deny a land use variance for property.
The property, purchased by BP2 in 2017, is zoned C-1 (neighborhood commercial district), which does not allow for outside storage or industrial uses. BP2 has identified it as a good location for warehousing and recycling of natural fill material, according to court records.
On Jan. 14, 2021, BP2, represented by attorney Jason Smith of Seymour, asked the court to review and reverse the BZA’s decision to deny the variance and grant the variance so BP2 can use the property to store and recycle earthen fill materials, such as dirt, stone and rock.
Travis has set a hearing at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 27 to consider BP2’s request for judicial review of the BZA’s decision.
On two occasions this year, the city has asked the court for an emergency hearing designed for BP2 to stop continuing work at the site pending the outcome of the judicial review.
The city’s most recent request for an emergency hearing and cease and desist order was filed Nov. 12. A similar motion was filed Oct. 26. Both motions were filed after the city’s code enforcement officer received complaints about BP2 continuing to dump materials on the property, according to court records.
That officer also went to the site in October and observed piles of concrete, dirt and cinder block debris had been dumped at the site and that concrete forms had been poured, according to court records. BP2 also had not sought a permit for the concrete work.
Both cease and desist motions asked Travis to sanction BP2 if work continued at the site, but she denied that request in Thursday’s order.