The proposed development would be primarily residential, with the possibility of incorporating mixed-use elements such as neighborhood businesses or professional offices, village documents show.
On May 5, Village Council approved an agreement with the owners of the property regarding the 84 acres in Miami Twp. The property owners also plan to donate 3.6 acres of the property to Yellow Springs schools for “recreational and school sports use.”
Public discussion about annexation has continued to simmer over the project, part of a long and oft-heated saga regarding additional housing in Yellow Springs.
“There is a substantial expansion of this town, a real Beavercreek-ization, in our pretty near future on the west side,” neighbor Rick Sanders said, referencing several developments proposed or under construction in the area. “These things are at various levels of realization, and it’s easy to sort of wave them off and consider them something to deal with in the future, but I do think it’s important that all of us are aware that this is on the way.”
Other neighbors also spoke on the matter at a June 2 Village Council meeting, including Miami Twp. resident Rosemary Shaw, who spoke on behalf of herself and her neighbors.
“Many of us chose to live along East Enon Road because of its remote, open and ecologically rich landscape,” she said. “The proposed annexation would effectively create an isthmus of unincorporated land, enclosing our homes on multiple sides by village boundaries and altering the rural nature we value.”
The village council has proposed a work session on annexation, scheduled for Monday, to further discuss the issue.
The annexation is being proposed under an “expedited annexation.” Under Ohio law, expedited annexations occur only when 100% of property owners request annexation. In this case, the entire property is owned by one family, so it fits the category.
This is the most commonly used annexation process in the state since 2001, when the process was added to the Ohio Revised Code, village documents show. Prior to 2001, property could be annexed if a simple majority was in favor, following a hearing, and with options to appeal.
On May 19, village council repealed a resolution passed in 2017 in which the village explicitly refused to “annex or extend utilities to any properties outside of the current municipal limits.”
However, there have been some properties annexed since this resolution was passed, so “best practice would be to repeal this blanket refusal,” village documents show.
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