Why does the FileAppender create a zero byte file when logger is set to OFF?

[Ron Grabowski]

When I set my root logger to OFF:

 <root>
  <level value="OFF" />
  <appender-ref ref="FileAppender" />
 </root>

A zero byte output file for my FileAppender appender is still created.
Why is this? I would expect no file to be created.