September 16, 2004

Owners petition Village to annex 39-acre parcel

By Robert Mihalek

The owners of a 39-acre property, known informally as the Fogg property, officially requested that the Village annex the parcel into Yellow Springs, a step necessary to develop the land.

On Sept. 3, the Village was notified that the property owners had filed a petition for annexation with the Greene County Board of Commissioners. The Village has 30 days to respond to the annexation petition and to indicate Council’s “general willingness to consider the request,” Council president Tony Arnett reported during a discussion on the petition at Council’s Sept. 7 meeting.

Council member George Pitstick said that the Village needs to work with the property owners to understand how the property could be developed. “It’s hard to get a sense of the impact of development unless you understand the use of the land,” he said.

The property, which is zoned agriculture, is located on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road, west of Yellow Springs in Miami Township.

One of the owners of the property, Doug Miller of HRI Commercial in Beavercreek, said that he plans to attend the next Council meeting, on Sept. 20, to discuss with Council plans to develop the parcel. Miller was also scheduled to meet with Village staffers on Wednesday.

The property is also owned by former local resident Lucy Fogg and her son, Harold Fogg.

In an interview on Monday, Miller said that he would like to create a mixed-use development that complements the Yellow Springs community and Antioch University McGregor, which hopes to expand its campus on farmland located across Dayton-Yellow Springs Road from the Fogg property.

This summer, Community Resources, the local community improvement corporation, purchased 46 acres of land from Vernay Laboratories, at Dayton-Yellow Springs and East Enon Road, on which to locate a commerce park. Antioch McGregor is slated to serve as the anchor of the park. Community Resources is calling the park the Center for Business and Education.

Miller implied that the Village could have some influence over the scope of the development. He said that he would “try to do” what the Village indicates “they will allow me to do.”

Referring to Village officials, including Council members, Miller said, “I think they want to see a responsible development on this parcel, and that’s what I hope to do.”

Village Manager Rob Hillard said that he has discussed with Miller creating a development that is compatible with the community and McGregor. He also said that he has informed Miller that Council has identified as goals pursuing business and residential development.

Miller said that his development plan would include a residential community for people 55 and older as well as what he called market-rate apartments. It could also include a small office warehouse for startup businesses, he said.

In addition, Miller said he wants to provide services that complement the proposed McGregor campus. This could include a restaurant, “where students and staff could go across the street, eat there and be back in an hour,” and a motel to serve people attending weekend events at McGregor, Miller said. Other possibilities Miller cited included a bank, a dry cleaner or a copy shop like Kinko’s.

Miller said that he does not think there’s a demand for retail businesses in this area of town, noting that downtown fills a retail niche in Yellow Springs.

The Fogg property is one of three parcels included in the Cooperative Economic Development Agreement, CEDA, the deal under which Council and the Miami Township trustees pledged to promote development. Land developed under the CEDA cannot include residential development. Still, Miller believes Council will approve his request for annexation because the property was listed in the CEDA. “I don’t think either the Township or the Village are surprised there is a request for annexation,” he said.

Since the Council meeting last week, Village staffers have been working with the Village solicitor, John Chambers, to better understand Ohio’s annexation laws.

In addition to following state annexation laws, the Village must also adhere to the Village’s annexation policy. Adopted in 1992, the annexation policy includes seven procedures the Village should follow when considering an annexation request. The policy states that “no annexation request will be granted without prior agreement by the petitioner that all Village utilities will be extended within a reasonable period of time onto the territory to be annexed.”

The annexation policy also states that the Village planner, Phil Hawkey, must conduct a study evaluating the “net benefit or harm to the public over the short and long term.” The study should consider public benefits to the community, including economic and tax revenues; costs to the public; land use plan compatibility and how the owners intend to use the land; population projections; environmental effects; and infrastructure.

The study must consider whether annexing the land complies with the Village Comprehensive Plan and the Village’s planning area boundaries. Hawkey said that the Fogg property meets both these requirements.

The annexation policy says that the Village must consider how development on the annexed property would be integrated into the existing street network “so that vehicular traffic can be dispersed and pedestrian circulation throughout the village is encouraged.” The policy also requires that new developments include public open space, either as a public park or an addition to the greenbelt around Yellow Springs.