Hello all,
I received a copy of the most recent order in the matter of Friends of the White River (Petitioner) v. Department of Natural Resources and the City of Indianapolis (FW-27680). The order:
(1) Vacates the prehearing conference in the matter that was scheduled for September 28, 2015,
(2) Stays the effectiveness of the permit until a final agency decision on the matter is reached, and
(3) Allows the parties to develop a timeline for hearing the case (joint case management plan).
I spoke today with the Administrative Law Judge handling the case and asked her what this means.
She indicates this means that the tree clearing permit will not be effective until sometime after the final hearing on the matter. She also indicated that the parties agreed that the final hearing on the matter would not occur until sometime in January of 2016, and that the agency final decision would come sometime after that. She is in the process of consulting the agency calendar to determine exactly when the hearing might occur.
So, it appears tree clearing is off the table until spring of 2016.
Jim Polito
Warfleigh.Org 