ELR Citation: 42 ELR 20187
No(s). 2012-Ohio-3914 (Ohio Sep 5, 2012)

The Supreme Court of Ohio held that a private sanitary landfill is not a public utility and is therefore subject to township zoning regulations. The landfill owner sought a change in zoning for adjacent property so he could expand the landfill. After the request was denied, the owner claimed that the landfill was exempt from the local zoning regulations. But a privately owned sanitary landfill cannot be a common-law public utility exempt from township zoning when there is no public regulation or oversight of its rates and charges, no statutory or regulatory requirement that all solid waste delivered to the landfill be accepted for disposal, and no right of the public to demand and receive its services.