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The Baron's Bus/Greyhound terminal's neighbors have worried about their safety for months, and they're calling on city leaders to do more to shut it down sooner
A local attorney said the Columbus City Attorney's Office did not take the most immediate legal path to shut down the terminal. neighbors have worried about their safety for months, and they're calling on city leaders to do more to shut it down immediately.
Since it started service, records show crime has increased in the area, and there was aABC 6/FOX 28 dug into police reports and calls for service to the terminal. From June 28 to Oct. 21 of this year, Columbus police reported 61 calls for service to the address of the bus terminal. During that same time period last year, there was one call to the address. "Almost the day they opened, cop call, cop call, cop call, assault, domestic, harassment," said Heidi Wetzel-Obelenus, who lives a few doors down from the terminal. "Just all the time. It’s nonstop." Wetzel-Obelenus moved to the once-quiet community nearly 10 years ago. She said it has been "absolute madness" since the bus terminal relocated to North Wilson Road, and she and her neighbors predicted it.in the days that followed"My daughter cannot play outside," said Wetzel-Obelenus. "She just got her very first bicycle in June. She’s six. It’s a right of passage for all children."from the city and has never had one. "I feel for the neighbors," said Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein. "I only can imagine how frustrating and how scared they are, which is why we keep pushing from my office’s perspective to get in front of a judge as soon as possible."ABC 6/FOX 28 reached out to a local attorney, Phil Harmon, for an outside opinion. He said Klein's office is not doing everything it can to shut down or move the terminal. "It should have filed for a temporary restraining, which the court would have granted based on the risk of harm to the public, and so for whatever reason, the city seems to be dragging its feet," Harmon said. In August, the City Attorney's office took legal action and requested a preliminary injunction. Months later, there has not been a decision from a judge. But, Harmon said, seeking a temporary restraining order would have shut down the terminal immediately, for up to 14 days unless extended by the court for an additional 14 days. "The city’s failure to seek a temporary restraining order in this case was a major mistake," said Harmon. "So, to correct that mistake, the city can and still should seek a temporary restraining order from the court to close down the terminal until it receives an occupancy permit. Because in the city’s own words, the terminal is an immediate threat to the life, health, and safety of the community.""Well, that’s what we’re seeking to do," said Klein. "We’re seeking an injunction at the court. So that’s the basis of our lawsuit. We want the place shut down. We want the judge to side with us so that if we get a total victory, the judge would side for us, and the place would be shut down immediately. So that’s exactly what we’re trying to do." But, according to Harmon, since Klein's office did not seek a temporary restraining order, they did not take the most immediate legal path. "He was not accurate when he said the city was moving as quickly as possible to obtain an injunction when he clearly knows that a TRO is the most expeditious way to obtain immediate judicial relief," Harmon said. And, without a certificate of occupancy, Harmon said it is his legal opinion based on the city's assessment of the bus terminal that the city could have shut down the terminal without any court action, at least initially. ABC 6/FOX 28 requested a follow-up interview with Klein to further discuss his reason for not seeking a temporary restraining order, and ABC 6/FOX 28 was told he would not be able to fit in an interview for the next couple of days. Instead, this response was sent: "Nuisance property cases often take months, even years, to litigate to final conclusion. It is only in extraordinary circumstances that the law allows a party to seek a TRO or preliminary injunction at the beginning of a case to address ongoing harm while the case plays out. The city believes that the public safety threat in this case warrants an aggressive response, and that is why we immediately sought an injunction upon filing. As you know, a TRO is only temporary, lasting up to 14 days if the city prevailed, which would then force the city to seek a more permanent injunction before the court, which is exactly where we are now. That’s why City Attorney Klein said a TRO and PI are essentially the same thing — we’d be in the same spot making the case before the court to permanently shut this property down." "When is say I have the neighbors in mind first and foremost, I have the neighbors in mind," Klein said. "We want to maintain Greyhound service in the City of Columbus, not at that location. We want to give as much relief to the neighbors that are dealing with this nightmare, and that’s why my team is going to put together a great case, and hopefully, we win." "This neighborhood does not believe that," said Wetzel-Obelenus. "We do not feel that. We do not believe that. And their actions do not show that."ABC 6/FOX 28 reached out to Baron's Bus and Greyhound multiple times and has not heard back.
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