A Silver Creek man who allegedly piled too much dirt on his land now faces a class C misdemeanor in Summit County Justice Court.
Michael Meza is scheduled for arraignment April 18 on one count of unlawful excavation, grading and filling on private property.
“If he doesn’t comply, put him on notice that his permit will be pulled,” Summit County Commissioner Bob Richer recently told County Engineer Derrick Radke. “We’re finished screwing around with this.”
Richer called the project an “ongoing problem child.”
“This has been going on for a long time and it sure sounds like this fellow doing the work hasn’t complied,” Richer added. “It’s driving some people crazy.”
On March 8, Summit County filed a criminal charge in Justice Court.
According to court papers filed by prosecutors, on Feb. 22 Meza violated the terms of a permit that allows him to work on his driveway.
“He’s trying to build up access to his property but he just put too much dirt out there and didn’t spread it out,” Radke said. “We haven’t jerked his permit because we’re still hoping he will spread the dirt like he is supposed to.”
Though Meza has improved the situation since court information was filed, he is still not complying with his permit, Radke added.
“If I jerk his permit, then I can’t get him to get the work done, so I’m taking one step at a time,” he said.
Meza was not available for comment before press time.
The first complaint about Meza’s project was lodged with the county in the fall of 2005, Radke said, adding that then “we received another complaint that they had resumed dumping.”
Meza’s attempts to raise the height of an existing roadway by about six inches have not impacted wetlands in the area, the engineer said.
Since it was issued, the county has warned Meza several times about allegedly violating the permit. The permit was issued near the end of last year and allowed Meza 180 days to complete the work, Radke said.