Judge Denies 'Ridge Park Hotel' Appeal

There will be no hotel in the property adjacent to Ridge Park Elementary School.

Montgomery County justice Cheryl Austin has denied developer Preferred Unlimited's appeal, after the Plymouth Township Zoning Hearing Board also denied its application earlier this year, according to an e-mail from councilwoman Maria Weidinger.

The ruling is the latest chapter in a back-and-forth between the developer and the township since an application for an 82-room hotel was first submitted last December. After it was originally denied by the Zoning Hearing Board, due to concerns about its location outside the "township core," the developer reworked the proposal in an attempt to satisfy concerns from residents.

Preferred Unlimited filed an appeal with the county, and offered to settle with Plymouth Council in August. However, council chose not the consider the settlement, effectively setting the stage for the appeal to proceed to court.

Now that the ruling has come down in the township's favor, it remains to be seen whether Preferred Unlimited will a file suit of "inverse condemnation," claiming Plymouth deprived enjoyment of the land and seeking that the township be required to buy it.

Attorneys for Preferred Unlimited previously stated they would do so.

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