December 9, 2004

Fogg annex delayed as Council plans dialogue

By Robert Mihalek

Recently one of the owners of the Fogg property said that he is delaying his efforts to have the 39-acre parcel annexed into Yellow Springs, giving him time to receive input from villagers.

Doug Miller, the broker/owner of HRI Commercial Realty in Beavercreek who owns a half interest in the Fogg land, asked Village Council not to take action on a request for annexation, which will cause the request to expire and, he said, would take “the issue off the table for the time being.”

He made it clear that he is not dropping plans to see that the property, which is located on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road, is developed, though he said in an interview that “nothing is cast in concrete,” and he would be willing to drop plans for the most controversial aspect of the issue, placing retail businesses on the property.

Miller announced his intention to delay annexation in a letter, dated Dec. 2, that he submitted to the News and to Council. It is published on page 5 as an “Other Voices” column.

At their meeting Monday, before a room packed with Yellow Springers, Council members agreed to grant Miller’s request and take no further action to annex the Fogg property at this time. Council did not vote on the decision. Council had scheduled a vote at its Dec. 20 meeting on the first reading of an ordinance officially accepting the Fogg property into the village.

“I hope that the action that’s been caused this evening will relieve the time pressure that some have been feeling,” Council president Tony Arnett said.

In addition, Council agreed to a suggestion made by Arnett to organize several public meetings to discuss some pressing issues that have been at the center of much public and behind-the-scenes discussion lately, including growth and development, protecting green space around Yellow Springs and creating a sustainable Village budget that provides revenue for capital projects.

He said that Council would further discuss the details of the meetings at the Dec. 20 Council meeting. He indicated that the meetings would take place in January and February.

Suzanne Patterson, a member of Villagers Addressing Land Issues and Development, or VALID, which opposes annexing the Fogg property, said that she is glad the annexation is slowing down, but added that it’s “worrisome, to me personally, that it’s just postponed.”

Patterson said VALID needed to discuss Miller’s decision before she answered questions about whether the group is willing to work with Miller on a development plan. She said that the group would be willing to seek a referendum on a development “to keep that strip mall away,” referring to Miller’s initial plans that proposed service-oriented businesses, such as a bank, dry cleaner or copy shop, on the property. Patterson would not discuss further details related to a possible referendum.

On Monday, Dan Young, the vice chairman of Community Resources, commended Miller for deciding to “step back and make sure he has the community with him rather than against him.” The delay gives Miller a chance to work with the community and “come back with a much better plan,” Young said.

Plans delayed, not dead

Council’s decision to organize the community planning meetings coincided with a request by Miller, who asked Council to set up a meeting between himself and “interested Yellow Springs citizens,” presumably including VALID.

In an interview before the Council meeting, Miller said that he decided to postpone the annexation process to provide “time for those who are saying this is being railroaded through” to learn more about his plans and to discuss the annexation request. “I don’t want anybody to say they didn’t have an opportunity to have a say on what they want out there,” he said, referring to the Fogg property.

But he also said he believes that most people who are concerned about the development’s potential effect on downtown will be “concerned about something else” if the plans for retail are dropped.

Miller has 120 days, from Dec. 6, to ask Council to reconsider the annexation request. In the interview, however, he said that scenario is unlikely and noted that he would probably start the annexation process from scratch. He said it would likely be six months to a year before he pursued annexation again.

Though he asked to postpone the annexation request, Miller made it clear in the letter that he and Harold Fogg, co-trustee of the Lucy Van Ness Fogg Living Trust, which also owns the land, intend to pursue annexation “after some reasonable period of time” so the property can be developed. They hope to eventually rezone the property to allow for what he called ‘reasonable’ development,” Miller wrote.

He also addressed the controversy over whether commercial development on the Fogg property would harm downtown. “Reasonable development does not necessarily need to include any ‘retail’ facilities,” Miller wrote. He also said that he and the Fogg Trust never intended to develop the property “in a fashion that would impact adversely on Yellow Springs’ very viable downtown.”

Critics of the plan to annex and develop the Fogg parcel contend that commercial development on the edge of Yellow Springs threatens downtown businesses.

“Once you start combining at the edge of town commercial and residential [development] it starts a new town,” said Patterson of VALID. “That’s sprawl, that will hurt, that will divide our community’s ability to communicate downtown.”

If the Fogg property is not annexed, Miller wrote, “our only other option” is to develop the land in Miami Township. But in the interview Miller made it clear that he wants the property developed in Yellow Springs, where the property could receive Village water and sewer services.

At the Council meeting Monday, in response to a question about whether the Fogg Trust and Miller could press for Village utilities without having the property annexed, Arnett said that it is “not our opinion” that the property owners could do that.

The Fogg property is zoned Agricultural, and the Township’s Agricultural district allows one housing unit per minimum three acres with 300 feet of lot frontage.

Miller had earlier said that the Fogg property, if annexed, would include a “mixed-use development” that could include a motel, restaurant and service-oriented businesses; housing for people 55 and older; and apartments. He has not yet supplied actual development plans.

He has tied his plans to the commerce park, called the Center for Business and Education, which is slated to be built across the street from the Fogg property, at East Enon and Dayton-Yellow Springs Roads.

Community Resources, a group of Yellow Springers who are interested in economic issues, purchased the land for the commerce park from Vernay Laboratories for $400,000 last summer. The largest tenant in the commerce park will be Antioch University McGregor, which is planning to build a new campus on the site.

Miller has said that he wants to provide services that complement the McGregor campus.

In the interview Monday, Miller said that while he would be willing to change plans for retail, and possibly for a motel, he would “draw a line” with the housing for people 55 and older. He also said that he would like to see built on the property “starter housing” that could cost between $140,000 and $170,000.

What people said at the meeting

During the Council meeting, several people commented on Council’s decision to organize the planning meetings and on the issue of growth here.

Joyce Appell, another member of VALID, told Council that the group has gathered 1,000 signatures of “people who oppose annexation.” She did not submit the petitions containing the signatures to Council.

Eric McLellan, who described himself as a former member of VALID, said that he is in favor of “moving forward with annexation,” and added that he wants to see the “momentum that’s been invested with protecting downtown” continued.

Referring to his tenure on the Village Planning Commission, Ellis Jacobs said that planners who work for villages believe towns should have a busy downtown. But development on the edge of town “will kill that downtown you’re trying to preserve,” he said. He added, “I don’t think we want to be the town that destroyed the village in order to save it.”

Bill Bebko, however, noted that he lives on the south end of town, near Yellow Springs’ “other commercial district,” which, he said, “hasn’t ruined downtown.” A member of the Village Environmental Commission, Bebko also expressed concern that if the Fogg farm is developed in the township, new housing would be serviced by septic tanks, not Village sewer lines. “Is that something we want to have on our border?” he asked.

Marianne MacQueen urged Council to “look beyond” issues related to the green belt and economic development and revise a visioning process, which Council started planning in 2002 and 2003 before dropping the idea earlier this year. In January, Arnett said that the visioning project had “morphed into” Council’s effort to create a five-year Village financial plan, an effort that is underway.

“The time might not have been right then” for the visioning process, MacQueen said, “but the time is right now.”

By Robert Mihalek

Recently one of the owners of the Fogg property said that he is delaying his efforts to have the 39-acre parcel annexed into Yellow Springs, giving him time to receive input from villagers.

Doug Miller, the broker/owner of HRI Commercial Realty in Beavercreek who owns a half interest in the Fogg land, asked Village Council not to take action on a request for annexation, which will cause the request to expire and, he said, would take “the issue off the table for the time being.”

He made it clear that he is not dropping plans to see that the property, which is located on Dayton-Yellow Springs Road, is developed, though he said in an interview that “nothing is cast in concrete,” and he would be willing to drop plans for the most controversial aspect of the issue, placing retail businesses on the property.

Miller announced his intention to delay annexation in a letter, dated Dec. 2, that he submitted to the News and to Council. It is published on page 5 as an “Other Voices” column.

At their meeting Monday, before a room packed with Yellow Springers, Council members agreed to grant Miller’s request and take no further action to annex the Fogg property at this time. Council did not vote on the decision. Council had scheduled a vote at its Dec. 20 meeting on the first reading of an ordinance officially accepting the Fogg property into the village.

“I hope that the action that’s been caused this evening will relieve the time pressure that some have been feeling,” Council president Tony Arnett said.

In addition, Council agreed to a suggestion made by Arnett to organize several public meetings to discuss some pressing issues that have been at the center of much public and behind-the-scenes discussion lately, including growth and development, protecting green space around Yellow Springs and creating a sustainable Village budget that provides revenue for capital projects.

He said that Council would further discuss the details of the meetings at the Dec. 20 Council meeting. He indicated that the meetings would take place in January and February.

Suzanne Patterson, a member of Villagers Addressing Land Issues and Development, or VALID, which opposes annexing the Fogg property, said that she is glad the annexation is slowing down, but added that it’s “worrisome, to me personally, that it’s just postponed.”

Patterson said VALID needed to discuss Miller’s decision before she answered questions about whether the group is willing to work with Miller on a development plan. She said that the group would be willing to seek a referendum on a development “to keep that strip mall away,” referring to Miller’s initial plans that proposed service-oriented businesses, such as a bank, dry cleaner or copy shop, on the property. Patterson would not discuss further details related to a possible referendum.

On Monday, Dan Young, the vice chairman of Community Resources, commended Miller for deciding to “step back and make sure he has the community with him rather than against him.” The delay gives Miller a chance to work with the community and “come back with a much better plan,” Young said.

Plans delayed, not dead

Council’s decision to organize the community planning meetings coincided with a request by Miller, who asked Council to set up a meeting between himself and “interested Yellow Springs citizens,” presumably including VALID.

In an interview before the Council meeting, Miller said that he decided to postpone the annexation process to provide “time for those who are saying this is being railroaded through” to learn more about his plans and to discuss the annexation request. “I don’t want anybody to say they didn’t have an opportunity to have a say on what they want out there,” he said, referring to the Fogg property.

But he also said he believes that most people who are concerned about the development’s potential effect on downtown will be “concerned about something else” if the plans for retail are dropped.

Miller has 120 days, from Dec. 6, to ask Council to reconsider the annexation request. In the interview, however, he said that scenario is unlikely and noted that he would probably start the annexation process from scratch. He said it would likely be six months to a year before he pursued annexation again.

Though he asked to postpone the annexation request, Miller made it clear in the letter that he and Harold Fogg, co-trustee of the Lucy Van Ness Fogg Living Trust, which also owns the land, intend to pursue annexation “after some reasonable period of time” so the property can be developed. They hope to eventually rezone the property to allow for what he called ‘reasonable’ development,” Miller wrote.

He also addressed the controversy over whether commercial development on the Fogg property would harm downtown. “Reasonable development does not necessarily need to include any ‘retail’ facilities,” Miller wrote. He also said that he and the Fogg Trust never intended to develop the property “in a fashion that would impact adversely on Yellow Springs’ very viable downtown.”

Critics of the plan to annex and develop the Fogg parcel contend that commercial development on the edge of Yellow Springs threatens downtown businesses.

“Once you start combining at the edge of town commercial and residential [development] it starts a new town,” said Patterson of VALID. “That’s sprawl, that will hurt, that will divide our community’s ability to communicate downtown.”

If the Fogg property is not annexed, Miller wrote, “our only other option” is to develop the land in Miami Township. But in the interview Miller made it clear that he wants the property developed in Yellow Springs, where the property could receive Village water and sewer services.

At the Council meeting Monday, in response to a question about whether the Fogg Trust and Miller could press for Village utilities without having the property annexed, Arnett said that it is “not our opinion” that the property owners could do that.

The Fogg property is zoned Agricultural, and the Township’s Agricultural district allows one housing unit per minimum three acres with 300 feet of lot frontage.

Miller had earlier said that the Fogg property, if annexed, would include a “mixed-use development” that could include a motel, restaurant and service-oriented businesses; housing for people 55 and older; and apartments. He has not yet supplied actual development plans.

He has tied his plans to the commerce park, called the Center for Business and Education, which is slated to be built across the street from the Fogg property, at East Enon and Dayton-Yellow Springs Roads.

Community Resources, a group of Yellow Springers who are interested in economic issues, purchased the land for the commerce park from Vernay Laboratories for $400,000 last summer. The largest tenant in the commerce park will be Antioch University McGregor, which is planning to build a new campus on the site.

Miller has said that he wants to provide services that complement the McGregor campus.

In the interview Monday, Miller said that while he would be willing to change plans for retail, and possibly for a motel, he would “draw a line” with the housing for people 55 and older. He also said that he would like to see built on the property “starter housing” that could cost between $140,000 and $170,000.

What people said at the meeting

During the Council meeting, several people commented on Council’s decision to organize the planning meetings and on the issue of growth here.

Joyce Appell, another member of VALID, told Council that the group has gathered 1,000 signatures of “people who oppose annexation.” She did not submit the petitions containing the signatures to Council.

Eric McLellan, who described himself as a former member of VALID, said that he is in favor of “moving forward with annexation,” and added that he wants to see the “momentum that’s been invested with protecting downtown” continued.

Referring to his tenure on the Village Planning Commission, Ellis Jacobs said that planners who work for villages believe towns should have a busy downtown. But development on the edge of town “will kill that downtown you’re trying to preserve,” he said. He added, “I don’t think we want to be the town that destroyed the village in order to save it.”

Bill Bebko, however, noted that he lives on the south end of town, near Yellow Springs’ “other commercial district,” which, he said, “hasn’t ruined downtown.” A member of the Village Environmental Commission, Bebko also expressed concern that if the Fogg farm is developed in the township, new housing would be serviced by septic tanks, not Village sewer lines. “Is that something we want to have on our border?” he asked.

Marianne MacQueen urged Council to “look beyond” issues related to the green belt and economic development and revise a visioning process, which Council started planning in 2002 and 2003 before dropping the idea earlier this year. In January, Arnett said that the visioning project had “morphed into” Council’s effort to create a five-year Village financial plan, an effort that is underway.

“The time might not have been right then” for the visioning process, MacQueen said, “but the time is right now.”