CV-2022-06-1846 MICHAEL, KATHRYN 06/03/2022 14:02:29 PM CMCO Page 1 of 9

IN THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS

SUMMIT COUNTY, OHIO

CITY OF AKRON, OHIO )

161 S. HIGH ST., SUITE 202
AKRON, OH 44308 ) CASE NO.

And )

STATE OF OHIO, EX REL. ) JUDGE:

EVE V. BELFANCE
DIRECTOR OF LAW )
CITY OF AKRON
161 S. HIGH ST., SUITE 202 ) Verified Complaint for Declaratory
AKRON, OH 44308 Judgment and Preliminary and
) Permanent Injunction
Plaintiffs,
)
V.
)
HOUSELESS MOVEMENT
C/O STATUTORY AGENT )
SAGE LEWIS
15 BROAD ST. )
AKRON, OH 44305
)
And
)
LARUE CORN
Address Unknown )

Defendants

Plaintiffs, the City of Akron, Ohio, and State of Ohio, ex rel. Eve V. Belfance, City

of Akron Director of Law, (the “City” or “Akron”), for their Complaint for Declaratory

Judgment and Preliminary and Permanent Injunctive Relief (“Complaint”) state as

follows:

1. Plaintiff, Akron, is a duly organized municipal corporation established and governed

by the laws of the State of Ohio.

Sandra Kurt, Summit County Clerk of Courts

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2. Relator Eve V. Belfance is the duly-appointed, sworn, and acting Director of Law for

the City of Akron, Ohio, and is a party charged at both common law and by RC 3767.03

with the prevention, prosecution, and abatement of any public nuisance within the

City of Akron, Summit County, Ohio.

3. This Complaint is brought pursuant to Ohio Revised Code 713.13, 715.30, and 715.44,

Ohio Revised Code Chapter 2721, other code provisions, and common law, so as to be

within the jurisdiction of the Court of Common Pleas of Summit County, Ohio.

4. Defendants own property in the City of Akron in the vicinity of Broad Street, Kent

Place, and Kent Street, more particularly described below, that is being maintained

and utilized in violation of law, including the following portions of the Codified

Ordinances of the City of Akron: Chapter 94, Health, Safety and Sanitation Code;

Chapter 95, Littering Code; Chapter 150, Environmental Health Housing Code; and

Chapter 153, Zoning Code (collectively, the “City Code”).

5. Defendant Houseless Movement is the owner of 85 Kent Place, Akron, Ohio, parcel

number: 6800124, and is, and has been, maintaining and utilizing 85 Kent Place in

violation of the City Code, including electrical wiring that is unapproved and/or not

maintained in good and satisfactory condition, outdoor use of a refrigerator, a pit for

open burning, and shelters provided by tents and/or other non-dwelling units on 85

Kent Place, or has allowed or permitted 85 Kent Place to be maintained and utilized

as such. See Exhibit A, attached hereto, Affidavit of Jeffery Ross; See Exhibit B,

attached hereto, Affidavit of Michael Antenucci; See Exhibit C, attached hereto,

Affidavit of Jodie Forester, with property tax card of the Summit County Fiscal Office

for parcel number: 6714282 attached thereto as Exhibit C-1.

Sandra Kurt, Summit County Clerk of Courts

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6. Defendant Houseless Movement is the owner of vacant land on Kent Place, Akron,

Ohio, parcel number: 6716245, and is, and has been, maintaining and utilizing its

vacant land on Kent Place in violation of the City Code, including maintaining shelters

provided by tents and/or other non-dwelling units, a collection of trash and litter, or

has allowed or permitted its vacant land on Kent Place to be maintained and utilized

as such. See Ross Affidavit, Exhibit A; See Antenucci Affidavit, Exhibit B; See Forester

Affidavit, Exhibit C, with property tax card of the Summit County Fiscal Office for

parcel number: 6716245 attached thereto as Exhibit C-2.

7. Defendant LaRue Corn is the owner of vacant land on Kent Place, Akron, Ohio, parcel

number: 6714364, and is, and has been, maintaining and utilizing his/her vacant land

on Kent Place in violation of the City Code, including maintaining shelters provided

by a pop-up camper, tents and/or other non-dwelling units, a large quantity of bicycle

parts, and a collection of trash and litter on his/her vacant land on Kent Place, or has

allowed or permitted his/her vacant land on Kent Place to be maintained and utilized

as such. See Ross Affidavit, Exhibit A; See Antenucci Affidavit, Exhibit B; See Forester

Affidavit, Exhibit C, with property tax card of the Summit County Fiscal Office for

parcel number: 6714364 attached thereto as Exhibit C-3.

8. Defendants have maintained, or permitted to be maintained, the properties listed in

paragraphs 5 through 7, above, (collectively, the “Properties”) in violation of the City

Code. See Ross, Antenucci, and Forester Affidavits, Exhibits A, B, and C, respectively.

9. The portions of each individual parcel upon which offending conditions have been or

are being maintained, described in paragraphs 5 through 7 of the Complaint, are zoned

Residence Use District under the Zoning Code. See Antenucci Affidavit, Exhibit B and

Exhibit B-1 attached thereto. Shelters provided by tents, sheds, campers, tarps, and

Sandra Kurt, Summit County Clerk of Courts

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other non-dwelling units are not permitted for purposes of living in a Residence Use

District, as they are not dwellings or dwelling units as defined by the Zoning Code.

10. On June 10, 2021, the City sent a letter to Defendant, Houseless Movement, to provide

notice that tents in the rear yard of 85 Kent Place, as described in paragraph 5, above,

violated the Zoning Code as a tent does not meet the definition of “dwelling unit” in

the City’s Zoning Code. A copy of the June 10, 2021 letter is attached hereto as Exhibit

B-2.

11. In December 2021, inspections by the City confirmed an encampment on the

Properties consisting of two tents, a large quantity of bicycle parts, and one pop-up

camper. See Ross Affidavit, Exhibit A.

12. In February 2022, inspections by the City confirmed the encampment on the

Properties had grown to include seven tents, two sheds, a large quantity of bicycle

parts, a collection of trash and litter, and one pop-up camper. See Ross Affidavit,

Exhibit A.

13. In March and April, 2022, inspections by the City confirmed the encampment on the

Properties had grown to approximately 15 tents with approximately 30 occupants, two

sheds, a large quantity of bicycle parts, a collection of trash and litter, one pop-up

camper, an open pit for burning, and the house at 85 Kent Place with extension cords

running from the house to various tents, sheds and/or other non-dwelling units on the

Properties. See Ross Affidavit, Exhibit A.

14. In May 2022, inspections by the City confirmed the encampment on the Properties

expanded to approximately 30 tents with many occupants, litter continued to

accumulate, the house at 85 Kent Place remained with extension cords running from

the house to various shelters provided by tents, an outdoor refrigerator was added,

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sheds and/or other non-dwelling units on the Properties, and nuisance conditions

continued to worsen. See Ross Affidavit, Exhibit A; See Forester Affidavit, Exhibit C.

15. The Director of the Department of Neighborhood Assistance mailed letters to

Defendants Houseless Movement and LaRue Corn on May 18, 2022, advising that

illegal conditions had been observed on their property and requesting such conditions

be removed by May 26, 2022. See Letters to Houseless Movement and LaRue Corn,

dated May 18, 2022, attached hereto as Exhibits D and E, respectively.

16. Due to the conditions and violations of the City Code, the Properties present an

imminent risk and danger to the public health, safety, welfare and aesthetics of

adjoining residents, nearby lands and roads, and citizens of the City of Akron, and

present irreparable harm to the City for which the City has no adequate remedy at law.

17. The City is authorized and empowered by ORC 713.13, 715.30 and 715.44 to institute

suit for injunction to prevent or terminate actions and conditions constituting a

nuisance.

FIRST CLAIM FOR RELIEF

18. For its first claim for relief, the City incorporates by reference as if fully restated herein

all the allegations contained in the preceding paragraphs.

19. The City is entitled to a judgment declaring that Defendants are using the Properties

in violation of the City Code.

SECOND CLAIM FOR RELIEF

20. For its second claim for relief, the City incorporates by reference as if fully restated

herein all the allegations contained in the preceding paragraphs.

Sandra Kurt, Summit County Clerk of Courts

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21. Pursuant to O.R.C. 713.13 and the City Zoning Code, the City is entitled to a

preliminary and permanent injunction to enjoin continuing use of the Properties in

violation of the Zoning Code and to prevent such violations in the future.

THIRD CLAIM FOR RELIEF

22. For its third claim for relief, the City incorporates by reference as if fully restated

herein all the allegations contained in the preceding paragraphs.

23. Pursuant to O.R.C. 715.30, O.R.C. 715.44, and the City Code, the City is entitled to a

judgment declaring that Defendants’ use of the Properties constitutes a public

nuisance.

24. The City is entitled to a preliminary and permanent injunction to enjoin continuing

use of the Properties as a public nuisance and to prevent such conditions in the future.

DEMAND FOR RELIEF

WHEREFORE, the City prays for a Declaratory Judgment with a Preliminary and

Permanent Injunction ordering that:

a. The allegations alleged in the Complaint constitute a real controversy;

b. The Court’s judgment will terminate that controversy;

c. The conditions at the Properties be declared violations of law;

d. The conditions at the Properties be declared a public nuisance;

e. The City is entitled to an order from this Court requiring that the Properties be

maintained in compliance with the law and free of nuisance; in particular, the City

is entitled to an order requiring that the Properties be maintained in compliance

with the following Chapters of the Codified Ordinances of the City of Akron:

Sandra Kurt, Summit County Clerk of Courts

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(1) Chapter 94, Health, Safety and Sanitation Code;

(2) Chapter 95, Littering Code;

(3) Chapter 150, Environmental Health Housing Code; and

(4) Chapter 153, Zoning Code;

f. Violation of the Court’s order will be punishable by contempt;

g. Defendants are preliminarily and permanently enjoined from maintaining

conditions at the Properties in violation of law and/or the City Code, including but

not limited to, tents, sheds, campers, tarps and/or other non-dwelling units,

electrical wiring that is unapproved and/or not maintained in good and

satisfactory condition, outdoor use of refrigerators or other electrical appliance not

designed for outdoor use, litter, trash, open pits for burning, scrap materials, and

any other items listed in the City Code;

h. Defendants and all others are enjoined from all use and/or occupancy of the

Properties for operations and/or conditions described in the Complaint, and from

maintaining these operations and/or conditions at the Properties;

i. Defendants shall remove and discontinue the violations of the City Code cited in

the Complaint, such that the violations and nuisance conditions are abated.

Alternatively, the City is permitted to so act to abate the violations and nuisance

operations and/or conditions at the Properties at Defendants’ expense;

j. The City is granted damages, if any, as yet to be determined, in an amount equal to

the costs to so act to abate the violations and nuisance conditions;

k. The City is granted any further legal or equitable relief to which the City is entitled;

and

l. The Defendants shall pay the costs of this action.

Sandra Kurt, Summit County Clerk of Courts

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Respectfully submitted,

Eve V. Belfance
Director of Law

/s/ John R. York

John R. York – Reg. No. 0065046
Vonsheay V. Brown – Reg. No. 0096046
Assistant Directors of Law
161 S. High Street, Suite 202
Akron, Ohio 44308
jyork@akronohio.gov
vbrown@akronohio.gov
(330) 375-2030 | Fax: (330) 375-2041

Sandra Kurt, Summit County Clerk of Courts

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Sandra Kurt, Summit County Clerk of Courts