Athens County Court of Common Pleas Judge L. Alan Goldsberry made a final appealable order Tuesday in a case related to an Athens man who accused the Athens County Commissioners of impeding on his property rights.
The case, “State of Ohio, ex rel. Richard Jeffers v. Board of Athens County Commissioners,” has been ongoing in various Ohio courts since 2004, according to court documents.
The controversy began when the Athens County Commissioners — acting on an initiative introduced by the Board of Alexander Township Trustees — decided to vacate Jeffers Road and Red Lane Road.
Court documents did not identify the reasoning behind vacating the roads.
The court documents do say that Richard Jeffers planned on developing a subdivision on the roads, so he considered the decision a violation of his property rights.
Jeffers had not begun construction of the subdivision at the time of the decision.
Goldsberry decided Tuesday that the Athens County Commissioners acted within the law and that their decision to vacate the roads did not constitute an unjust taking of Jeffers’ property rights.
The decision hinged on two factors: whether the vacation of the roads constituted a true closure under Ohio law and whether the commissioners’ taking of the property constituted “substantial interference” with Jeffers’ property rights.
Goldsberry determined that the commissioners’ actions did not constitute a closure of the roads because the roads were vacated, not closed.
Jeffers argued that the vacations involved the removal of public signs and blockage of the roads, but the commissioners denied these accusations.
“The commissioners’ initial road vacation efforts… failed to affect legal road closures,” Goldsberry wrote.
As Jeffers was still able to use the roads for personal purposes, it was determined that the vacation of the roads did not constitute substantial interference with his property rights.
Since the case began nine years ago, the roads have been reopened.
Jeffers was denied a writ of mandamus. He can appeal the decision if he decides to do so.
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