Delaware city annexations rile township residents who don't want unfettered growth in region

A referendum petition drive, lawsuit and opposition website have followed efforts by the city of Delaware to annex more than 200 acres of farmland from neighboring townships to be developed into high-density housing.

The citizen-driven challenges illustrate the backlash that some communities face over ever-changing landscapes in growing areas. The need for affordable housing in Delaware County, one of Ohio's fastest-growing, comes at a time when development — including Intel's chip manufacturing plant under construction in neighboring Licking County — will likely produce more pressure for so-called workforce housing.

Delaware City Council last year approved a rezoning application for about 230 acres northwest of Routes 36/37 and 521, just east of the city. That was before it annexed the land into the city.

Because the property involved was at the time in both Brown and Delaware townships, Tom Davis, a neighboring property owner, sued the city. Davis argued, in part, that the city of Delaware had no authority to rule on zoning outside its boundaries.

The land has since been annexed into the city, rendering that part of the lawsuit moot, said attorney Joseph Miller, who represents Metro Development LLC. But the lawsuit remains open, with Davis still challenging other elements of the project. A ruling on an injunction to stop or delay the project will likely come later this year in Delaware County Common Pleas Court.

Meanwhile, other residents began circulating a petition, which needed 1,600 signatures by Feb. 6 to put the annexation issue on the November ballot. But the effort fell 500 signatures short.

So now their remaining strategy is to oppose the rezoning. A public hearing on the issue is set for Feb. 26.

Why does the city of Delaware annexing land from neighboring townships matter?

The proposed development would have consequences for those property owners closest to it and for others, including motorists who travel roadways in the area.

An appraiser working for one of those landowners said the development will devalue neighboring farmland, arguing the project is too big for the area and that road and other improvements should precede construction.

"It's putting the cart before the horse," said Ross Porter, whose report for Joseph A. Porter & Associates concludes that the proposed 1,168 housing units — 811 of which are apartments — would create soil erosion and drainage problems, significant traffic and noise for his client and other property owners, and other issues.

Objections are fueled by growing discontent about growth, traffic and crowded schools countywide, especially in central and northern Delaware County. The southern townships, largely built-out, have already fueled concerns about unfettered growth and lack of thoughtful planning.

A woman wrote a letter to The Dispatch last week, questioning the "price of progress" and transformation of Lewis Center, a few miles south of the proposed housing, where she grew up.

Porter said he believes many are simply fed up and concerned that developers wield to much power over officials.

"They're saying, 'You can't just come in here and push your weight around for something that (farmers) have worked on for years,'" Porter said.

Davis, the plaintiff who is suing Delaware city, lives with his wife on about 110 acres next to the proposed housing development. He rents 72 acres of it to a farmer to grow soybeans. He said he's not opposed to growth, just not high-density growth.

"We always considered that (surrounding land) would be single-family homes," Davis said. "Even with single-family homes, it will have a big impact. It's changing.

"I think you have to have a good plan, and you can't let the developers get out of control," he said.

Davis is also critical of the city's master plan, which calls for single-family homes in that area.

"They don't care how they get there," he said of government officials' approach to addressing the need for housing. "They just do this stuff.

"It gets really irritating when people don't follow the law," Davis said. "And nobody ever objects because it's expensive," he said of litigation.

Shortage of housing in central Ohio presents an ongoing problem

The housing shortage justifies the project, at-large Delaware City Council Member Catlin Frazier said.

"When we looked at some of the data, we're trending about 9,000 homes behind the population pace in central Ohio," Frazier said, adding that the deficit will climb to 20,000 in the next 10 years. "But not everyone can afford, or wants, to live in a single-family home."

Tre Giller, president and CEO of Metro Development, agreed, basically calling the opposition "a fear of the unknown versus the reality."

"If we don't provide needed housing now, then we're going to be in a real problem later," GIller said. "If you keep saying no to everything, you end up with higher home prices due to greater demand than supply. If you don't have growth, you have stagnation."

Delaware County Treasurer Don Rankey, who lives in the Powell area, said he supports growth, but only when it mixes a variety of housing with new businesses and industry to support it.

Rankey also decries the decline of townships due to annexation.

"They should not only survive, but thrive," Rankey said of townships. "And the only way they can do that is to maintain their boundaries without cities coming in and annexing their land."

Rankey proposes revenue sharing agreements with townships, which have no legal authority under state law to enact an income tax. He noted that the city of Delaware stands to make millions of dollars in city income tax from residents of the proposed development and one-time development fees of about $15,000 per unit from Metro Development.

Delaware city is also seeking an increase to its current 1.85% income tax on the March primary ballot, which applies income earned by resident individuals and resident businesses; and non-resident individuals and non-resident businesses earning income in the city.  Voters are being asked to approve an additional income tax of 0.35% for general services. If approved, the city income tax would increase to a total 2.20%. The city is also seeking approval on the March ballot to continue an existing 0.15% income tax levy to fund municipal parks and recreation and the payment of securitiesissued for that purpose.

Editor's note: Due to an editor's error, an earlier version of the paragraph above listed an incorrect total for the city income tax.

dnarciso@dispatch.com

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Delaware County annexations face criticism over quality of life issues