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Goose Creek Historic District lawsuit settled
Lawsuits challenging the administration of the Goose Creek Historic District ended last week in a settlement.
Neighbors Sally Mann and Keith Early had sparred over Early's plans to develop a Thoroughbred horse breeding facility on land adjacent to Mann's home on Harmony Church Road south of Hamilton.
Early's property is in the Goose Creek Historic District. Mann's is not.
Mann had filed three lawsuits challenging Early's right to build a barn near her property line. She also challenged the Board of Zoning Appeals' decision that the barn in question did not need a certificate of appropriateness from the Historic District Review Committee, on the grounds that "bona fide agricultural structures" are exempt from that requirement.
The Manns' attorney, John Flannery, argued in court in June that the barns were a subterfuge to store restaurant equipment, and not "bona fide agricultural structures." Mann contended that county officials in zoning, planning and building and development treated Early's development more leniently than they should.
The agreement came as the trial of one of three cases was starting its fourth day in Circuit Court July 30.
According to attorneys involved, Early will relocate two hay barns to a site on his farm that is acceptable to the Manns. Sally and John Roy Mann will pay to prepare the new pad for the barns, to restore the pad site Early already had installed and to install some trees for screening between the properties.
Early will not park trailers or farm equipment along the shared property line, and he is not to erect any large buildings there.
Both parties are committed to not file any complaints against the other.
As part of the settlement, Early has withdrawn a defamation lawsuit he had filed against Sally Mann.
In June, Circuit Court Judge Thomas D. Horne ruled against Mann in her lawsuit challenging the county's decision not to let her out of the Hillbrook Agricultural District before it expires in December.
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