Cathy May, Contributing Writer

Robert Gartley and Victoria Altieri applied for primary approval of Altieri Estates, a two-lot subdivision, at the February meeting of the Ripley County Planning Commission. What normally would be a fairly routine request became uncomfortable for some present when during the public hearing neighbor Jerry Bohley spoke.

Bohley stated, “I don’t see this as a positive. I am concerned with the reputation of this man who is a registered sex offender. I have a four-year-old and I am very concerned. He has no concern for anybody or anything. He lives in a camper. I have a $300,000 house. Can they just put anything they want there? I don’t want to live next to a trailer.”

Another neighbor, Danny Thomas, spoke out. “What about my $200,000 home with a trailer next door? That affects my property value.”

Commission member Dave Osborne explained, “We feel your pain, but, we can’t do anything about that. Our goal is to make sure the standards are met. Our hands are tied. If someone comes to us with a request and they have met the necessary standards, then, by law, we have to approve that request. We tried to vote with our hearts against requests in the past and were told by a judge that we had to honor them. We don’t want to make that mistake again.”

The commission members were concerned about the claim that Gartley was living in a camper. Planning director, Tad Brinson, said that he had inspected the RV and saw no signs that anyone lived there. There was no electric hooked up or evidence of sewage.

If Gartley was living in the RV, that would be a zoning violation and the application would not have been heard. Some members tried to table the application so the director could further investigate the matter. That was voted down.

Finally, a motion to give primary approval ended in a vote of 6-4 with two abstentions. That is considered a non-vote because a majority of seven people must agree. The matter will be allowed to be brought up again at the next meeting. According to Attorney John Ertel, a non-vote at that time will be considered as a vote against the application.

The other agenda item was far less controversial. THA Properties, Inc. applied to vacate and replat all of lot 1 & 4 and parts of lots 2 & 3 in South Ripley Estates Phase II in Versailles. The vote was 11-0 with Jeff French abstaining. Since it was the first meeting of the year, officers were elected. Steve Youngman of Napoleon was elected president, Dave Osborne, vice-president, and Tad Brinson, secretary.

All twelve members of the commission were present for the meeting. The next Ripley County Area Planning Commission meeting will be on March 4 at 7:00 p.m. in the commissioners’ room of the Ripley County Courthouse Annex in Versailles.