Agenda - Planning Commission - 09/02/1997

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,.. Z.B. August 10,1997 - Page 7 .~ published and sent to every municipality in the county. Howell Township did not participate in the hearing or comment on the proposed amendment. The county adopted the amendment and designated McDowell's property as a recycling center. The DEP amended the Monmouth County plan, stating the state's recycling laws preempted local ordinances that were inconsistent with the state laws, but that the recycling centers should comply with local ordinances that were consistent with state law. The township did not seek reconsideration or appeal the DEP's certifica- tion of the amended county plan. After its site was included in the plan, McDowell resubmitted its application to the DEP for a permit authorizing it to blend nonhazardous petroleum- contaminated soil with asphalt. McDowell followed proper procedures for the application, forwarding it to the township for its comments. The township asked a court to restrain McDowell from using its property as a recycling center, arguing that McDowell needed a use variance. The town- ship asked for judgment without a trial. McDowell and the DEP also requested judgment without a trial, arguing that the DEP's regulations preempted local zoning ordinances. The trial court agreed with the DEP and McDowell, concluding the ordinances were preempted. The DEP issued McDowell a recycling permit, allowing it to accept asphalt and concrete for recycling. McDowell started operating the center for asphalt and concrete. The township appealed. DECISION: Affirmed. The state's recycling laws preempted local ordinances. A municipality couldn't impose its land-use regulations over the DEP's regulations. Allowing a mu- nicipality to do so would threaten the DEP's authority to enforce its objectives. 10<6 Taking - Does business's lack of license prevent it from claiming greater damages? Simmons v. Department of Transportation, 484 S.E.2d 332 (Georgia) 1997 Simmons had a trucking business on four acres of property in Banks County, Ga. He used about two acres for the trucking business and the remainder for a house and a buffer for the business. He made several improvements, installing a mobile home to use as an office, two seRtic systems, and two storage build- ings, as well as 10,000 feet of gravel and multiple loads of dirt for roads. In 1991, the county enacted an ordinance zoning Simmons' land as residential-agricultural. The new ordinance contained a grandfather clause permitting existing nonconforming uses, as long as those uses complied with local laws and had all the necessary permits. When Simmons began the trucking business in 1980, the county didn't re- quire him to get a business license. The next year, however, the county enacted a business-license resolution requiring all businesses in the county to get one. Simmons claimed he didn't know about the requirement until 1994, but promptly applied for the license when he did find out. The county issued