From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Jan. 15, 1990:

A Douglas County district judge this week ruled that the Lawrence Board of Zoning Appeals must rehear an 11-month-old case involving renovation of an East Lawrence triplex. District Judge James Paddock sided with East Lawrence resident Richard Kershenbaum’s contention that the BZA had acted unreasonably when it had allowed renovation of the triplex at 1101 New Jersey. Kershenbaum had argued that the triplex, which was on property zoned for single-family use, should have lost its legal non-conforming status because it had been used as storage space for several years. In spite of his arguments, the BZA had voted that the property owners had not discontinued the property’s use as a triplex and that a renovation permit should be issued. Kershenbaum had then sued the city over the decision, saying that the BZA had acted in an “unreasonable, arbitrary and capricious” manner. The judge sided with Kershenbaum, saying that the statements made by the BZA members had “placed them in the position of advocates for the (property owners) rather than impartial fact finders conducting a quasi-judicial hearing.”