OML UPDATE AT-A-GLANCE
 
Here are the top six things you need to know from this past week:
 
  • The Ohio General Assembly is scheduled to return from break next week and begin holding committee hearings. Read next week’s committee schedule below and find the 2022 legislative schedule for the Ohio House and Senate HERE.

  •  On Wednesday, the Ohio Supreme Court ruled Ohio’s new legislative maps unconstitutional. The court has given the Ohio Redistricting Commission ten days to draw new map district lines and has retained jurisdiction to review the new map district lines to ensure compliance with the court’s order.
 
  • The League has released the 2022 schedule for Municipal Officials Training Seminars. These seminars will equip municipal officials by covering topics such as home rule and local control, city and village financing procedures, council powers and procedures, public records and liability for municipalities and municipal officers. Click HERE to register. Learn more in the article below.

  • In light of the announcement last week that the U.S. Treasury has issued the Final Rule implementing the Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) program under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), the Ohio Office of Budget and Management (OBM) will be holding a webinar on Monday, January 24 at 2 p.m. to discuss the ARPA State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund. Learn more and register HERE.

  • Ohio House Democrats have selected Rep. Allison Russo (D – Columbus) to be the next House minority leader following Rep. Emilia Sykes (D – Akron), who resigned at the end of last year. Rep. Thomas West (D – Canton) will serve as the new assistant minority leader while Rep. Jessica Miranda (D – Cincinnati) will serve as the new minority whip. The League congratulates the new House minority leadership and we look forward to working with them to continue to advocate for greater investment in Ohio’s cities and villages.

  • The deadline for submission requests from local governments and community partners for the next capital budget is March 18, 2021. According to a memo release by Senate Finance Committee Chair Sen Dolan (R – Chagrin Falls), the capital re-appropriations budget is set to be enacted before March 31, 2022 while the timeline for the capital budget will be determined later. Members of the Ohio legislature must submit all requests by April 1, 2021. All local governments seeking capital funds should submit their request to their state legislators.
  
 
2022 SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED FOR OML MUNICIPAL OFFICIALS TRAINING SEMINARS
 
The League is excited to announce the 2022 schedule for our Municipal Officials Training Seminars. These seminars are designed to prepare our local leaders for the issues and responsibilities they manage as municipal officials and assist in navigating the successful management of their communities.
 
The presentations will cover topics such as what is Home Rule and what authorities are granted municipalities through local control, new changes to city and village financing procedures, council procedures and authorities, management responsibilities related to public records and liability issues for municipalities.
 
The following are the dates and locations for this year’s Municipal Officials Training Seminars:
 
·        Saturday, March 5 – Cincinnati Marriott Northeast
·        Saturday, March 12 – Doubletree Columbus/Worthington
·        Saturday, March 26 – Embassy Suites Rockside
 
These seminars are a great opportunity for both local leaders starting their first terms in office and current municipal leaders. To find out more information and register, click HERE
 
 
 
SIXTH CIRCUIT RULES LOCAL TREE ORDINANCE VIOLATES FIFTH AMENDMENT
 
The following article was written by article contributors from Frost Brown Todd, LLC:
 
Recently, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals invalidated a local tree replacement ordinance that required property owners to obtain a permit before removing certain trees and to either replace those trees or pay a fee in lieu of replacement. F.P. Development, LLC v. Charter Township of Canton, Michigan, 6th Cir. No. 20-1447/1466 (Oct. 13, 2021).
 
Local governments across the Sixth Circuit should use this occasion to review their code provisions to ensure that they do not inadvertently expose themselves to a lawsuit under this new case law.
 
The Tree Ordinance
 
The Canton Township, Michigan, ordinance required property owners to obtain a permit before removing certain trees or undergrowth. Specifically: (1) trees with a diameter of six inches or more; (2) landmark or historic trees; (3) trees located within a forest with a diameter of three inches or more; and (4) any under-canopy vegetation within the dripline of a forest.
 
If a property owner wanted to remove any tree that fell under one of those categories, it was required to commission an arborist and apply to the township for a permit. If the permit was issued, the property owner then had to mitigate by replacing the trees elsewhere on the property, replacing the trees elsewhere in the township, or paying a per-tree-fee between $300 to $450 to the township tree fund.
 
Case History
 
The case began when F.P. Development decided to develop an overgrown parcel of land in Canton, Michigan. The township conditionally approved a development application but stressed that F.P. would need an additional permit to remove any qualifying trees from the property.
As development progressed, F.P. discovered that the parcel was divided by a county drainage ditch clogged with trees and debris. The county refused to clear the ditch, so F.P. hired a company to remove the trees, and to remove several other trees on the property. F.P. did not obtain a permit for these removals.
 
The township learned of the unpermitted removals and demanded that F.P. either replant 187 trees within the township or deposit $45,878 into the township tree fund. F.P. decided to sue instead.
 
Outcome
 
F.P. raised three claims against the township:
1.     The ordinance constituted an unconstitutional taking both facially and as applied;
2.     The ordinance was an unreasonable seizure; and
3.     The ordinance constituted an excessive fine.
 
In a minor victory for the township, the Court rejected F.P.’s claims that the tree ordinance and its mitigation fees violated the Fourth Amendment’s bar on unreasonable seizures and the Eighth Amendment’s bar on excessive fines.
 
However, the court held that, as applied to F.P., the tree ordinance violated the Fifth Amendment’s Takings Clause under an application of that Clause known as the unconstitutional conditions doctrine. The unconstitutional conditions doctrine is the framework used by courts to assess whether governmental conditions on permits required for productive use of property are proportional to the impact of the use of property. Imposing conditions that are disproportionate to impact, or that lack a nexus relating the conditions to the impact, are considered takings of property under the Fifth Amendment.
 
Here, the parties agreed that there was an essential nexus between preserving natural resources and the required permits, so the court turned to the “rough proportionality” prong of analysis. This prong requires a political subdivision to complete an individualized assessment as to whether the requirements of permit conditions are related both in nature and extent to the impact of the proposed action. In other words, a municipality cannot impose a standardized rubric for tree replacement or tree fees without considering each property and the effect on the environment of the removal.
 
The court determined that the township failed to make any individualized assessment here because its ordinance required the formulaic fee “regardless of the specific impact caused by the tree removal.” Thus, the court held that, as applied to the developer, the tree ordinance was unconstitutional. 
 
Conclusion
 
It is time to review, and likely revise, municipal tree ordinances to ensure compliance with F.P. Development. At minimum, municipalities should assess specific situations and specific impacts of tree removal on certain properties—a one-size-fits-all approach is not going to cut it anymore.
 
 
  
OHIO EPA TO HOLD WEBINAR ON WATER SUPPLY REVOLVING LOAN ACCOUNT (WRSLA) PROGRAM
 
On Thursday, Jan 20 from 10 a.m.-11 a.m., the Ohio EPA will be holding a webinar on their Water Supply Revolving Loan Account (WRSLA) Program, which provides financial assistance for the planning, design, and construction of improvements to community water systems and non-profit non-community public water systems.
 
The webinar will provide an update on activities and priorities that may be new or revised for the upcoming program year, and will include a detailed discussion of the project nomination process to help those who may be interested better understand how to position themselves so they can maximize their chances of receiving a WSRLA planning, design and/or construction loan during 2022-2023 program cycle. Learn more and register HERE.