St. Louis County officials have yet to respond to a new round of appeals of a controversial zoning decision by county planning director Barb Hayden.

The city of Tower joined the Coalition for Community Schools late last week in filing its own appeal of Hayden’s March 15 administrative determination, that cleared the way for two new schools to be built in areas zoned for Forest and Agricultural Management (FAM).

Field Township officials are considering their own appeal, according to Town Board Chair Keith Aho. “I think the appeal is necessary,” said Aho, who is consulting an attorney on how to proceed.

At issue is Hayden’s decision to allow public/semi-public uses, such as schools, in FAM zones, a use type that isn’t currently allowed in the zones under the county ordinance. Hayden claims in her March 15 ruling that the county board must have erred when it excluded public/semi-public uses from the ordinance, but critics of her decision contend that even if the board did err, the proper solution is to go through an amendment process.

An earlier appeal by the Coalition for Community Schools was thrown out by Hayden on July 8, who claimed the appeal was filed after the 45-day window, and didn’t have the required $1,000 fee. The coalition challenged Hayden’s decision, citing emails that demonstrated they had been misinformed about the appeal process by County Attorney Melanie Ford. The coalition resubmitted its appeal days later, with $1,000 attached. The city of Tower filed its own appeal last week, in a letter signed by Mayor Steve Abrahamson that was sent to all seven county commissioners, in addition to Hayden and the county attorney.

Tower City Clerk Tim Kotzian, who also serves as chair of the Coalition for Community Schools, said the lack of public notice of Hayden’s decision eliminates any window for an appeal. “The city feels there’s no doubt that this appeal will be accepted,” said Kotzian. “If there’s any doubt on the issue of public notice, why wouldn’t you err on the side of the people?”

County Attorney Ford referred questions on the appeal this week to Hayden, and declined to give her view on whether the public had adequate “notice” of the planning director’s determination.

Should the appeal be allowed to move forward, the issue would come before the Board of Adjustment, possibly as early as August, for its own ruling. Should the board overturn Hayden’s determination, it would require the school district to either seek new sites for its schools, or seek a rezoning of the existing sites, a process that typically takes several months.