PATA History Pages

362 Annexation Lawsuit settlement

Area includes land next to New High School Complex

City, township settle annexation lawsuit

Thursday, July 22, 2004

MICHAEL J. MAURER
ThisWeek Staff Writer

The city of Pickerington and Violet Township have tentatively settled a lawsuit over the annexation of 362 acres of Milnor Road land on the east side of Pickerington.

Under the agreement, the challenged annexation would proceed and the city and township will share various tax revenues and fees.

If it is approved by both city council and trustees, the settlement would end a two-year tug-of-war over the land and would be the first step in a common development policy between Pickerington and Violet Township.

"The parties have worked very hard to make that happen," said Wanda Carter, township attorney. "The approach has been to minimize or eliminate the amount of legal proceedings between the city and the township."

Pickerington Mayor David Shaver and township Director of Operations Bill Yaple confirmed that a final agreement had been reviewed by attorneys for the city and township.

"The city does give up some things that it could do unilaterally," Shaver said. "Essentially, since we're sharing the same taxpayers, we're trying to reach an agreement to share the revenue between the two communities."

Trustee Terry Dunlap said the agreement is similar in some ways to the Cooperative Economic Development Agreement (CEDA) that the township has with Canal Winchester.

"We'll do some things similar to the CEDA, where we provide services to the area," Dunlap said. "And if future annexations are agreeable, this will help put it on a fast track."

Under the agreement, the annexation would proceed, but the township would be reimbursed for some taxes that it would lose as a result, Carter said.

The city first applied in 2002 to annex the land unilaterally, without the township's cooperation, pursuant to pre-annexation agreements entered into with 10 landowners and developers, including Virginia Homes and Dominion Homes.

With the township trustees in opposition, the Fairfield County Board of Commissioners rejected the petition in July 2002, on the grounds that the city did not have adequate water and sewer capacity to provide service to the annexed land.

Pickerington appealed that rejection to the Fairfield County Court of Common Pleas, and in September 2003, Judge Chris Martin overruled the commissioners, finding that Fairfield County could provide utility services even if the land were annexed.

That decision was then appealed to the Fifth District Court of Appeals, where it is pending now. Carter said oral arguments had been put off in the case to allow the parties to negotiate a voluntary agreement.

Dick Brahm, attorney for the majority of landowner-petitioners, said his clients have not been part of the settlement discussions.

"I have not attended one meeting or seen one document," Brahm said.

He said his clients' concern is only that the pre-annexation agreements previously entered into between the city and developers are followed.

"I have been told that their position (as developers) will be maintained," Brahm said.

Dunlap and Shaver both said they hope that further agreements to create a Joint Economic Development District and settle several pending lawsuits over annexation on the south side of Pickerington could be reached by the end of this year or early in 2005.

"It's complicated," Dunlap said. "You've got four proceedings, two initiated by the governments and two initiated by private parties. It's going to take a while to untangle that."


mmaurer@thisweeknews.com