Lakeside Ashland Debate Continues

By: Ernie

Wren Each time that it appears the Lakeside Ashland project has been ironed out, a new wrinkle appears. This past week the Southern Boone Fire District demanded that construction at Lakeside be halted as they believe the development does not meet pertinent fire code requirements. In communicating with representatives of the park, the fire district stated that, “We write to clearly state that any further development of the Lakeside area has not been authorized or permitted by the fire district.” But according to Ashland Mayor Richard Sullivan, since the site plan was approved by Ashland’s Planning & Zoning Commission, the development will continue as planned. In a letter-to-the-editor this week, Keith Birkes and Lori Wallace express their opinions regarding the lawsuit and developments. They state that the fire district has been telling the Ashland city officials for months that the project is unsafe and have verbally and orally expressed their concerns to the council. Their belief is that the developer must stop work on the project until they comply with the requirement that there be two suitable roads in and out of the neighborhood, and that without this, the fire district has referred to the project as “a public safety disaster waiting to happen”. When reached for comment by the Journal, Jim Bullard of the fire district stated that, “I am sorry, but the fire district cannot comment at this time.”

See more in this weeks Boone County Journal