WASHINGTON COUNTY - The last piece of a legal challenge to a proposed new Washington County Hospital was settled Monday when a judge entirely affirmed two zoning variances for the project.
In August, Washington County Circuit Judge W. Kennedy Boone III affirmed the variances on three of four counts, but sent the matter back to the Washington County Board of Zoning Appeals for clarification.
On Monday, Boone upheld the fourth aspect, completing his decision.
Told of the decision by The Herald-Mail, Charles B. Hongell, one of five remaining appellants, said he was "disappointed."
He said he'd ask the other appellants - Gordon A. Bartels, Janet E. Bartels, Sally R. Hatch and Robert C. Hatch - if they wanted to appeal the ruling. Legal costs would be an important factor, he said.
James Hamill, the president and chief executive officer of Washington County Health System, the hospital's parent organization, said he was "delighted" by the decision.