Jackson Township, North Canton working to hammer out economic development deal
NORTH CANTON − Jackson Township officials were outraged more than a decade ago when North Canton filed a petition to annex several acres from the township west of Whipple Avenue NW.
“This is something we are not going to take lying down,” said Trustee John Pizzino. “They don’t want our residents, they want our residents’ money. They want our tax base.”
Jackson Township then pushed ahead with blessing Canton's annexation of a railroad line west of North Canton that forever blocked North Canton's westward expansion to the area west of Interstate 77.
The conflict went into the courts, and after spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on attorneys fees, North Canton lost.
Related: North Canton administrator: city must get more businesses to keep quality of services
Fast forward to 2023: North Canton's administrator, Patrick DeOrio, recently presented to council a proposed 50-year economic development agreement between North Canton and Jackson Township to develop an area bounded by Wise Avenue and railroad tracks west of the city. The deal, he said, has been hammered out since April, signaling both communities have moved on from the annexation battles of the past.
Agreement terms
According to a slide show, these are a highlights of the terms:
The agreement covers a roughly 80 to 100 area of Jackson shaped like a knife blade that DeOrio referred to as "the gateway to North Canton." Wise Avenue NW is the eastern boundary, Applegrove Street NW is the northern boundary, the Akron METRO railroad tracks is largely the western boundary and southwestern boundary until the tracks intersect a point east of Whipple Avenue NW. North Canton bought about 18 acres in that area with borrowed money from investors in hopes the company would attract companies. Because the area is east of the railroad tracks annexed by Canton, this is practically the only area of Jackson Township North Canton can still annex.
North Canton can annex parcels adjoining the city in this area without opposition from Jackson Township but all owners of the parcels have to agree. Any existing businesses in that area can only be annexed into North Canton if it requests do so.
Of such parcels, North Canton would keep all income tax revenue and Jackson Township would keep all property tax revenue. North Canton has the final word on income tax abatements or incentives and Jackson Township has the final word on property tax abatements or incentives.
Both North Canton and Jackson Township would have to approve any development opportunities that either would want to pursue in that area.
Any annexed parcels would be in Jackson Township and North Canton at the same time and not North Canton's own Hoover Township.
Jackson Township would still provide to any parts of that area annexed into North Canton the services of police, fire, emergency medical services, street maintenance and repair, storm sewers and sanitary sewer.
North Canton would provide any annexed areas in the designated zone water service, building and permits regulations and inspections, building code and fire code enforcement. North Canton would also decide the zoning for such areas and any other services not specified.
Jackson Township Police would still enforce any criminal and traffic laws in annexed areas.
North Canton will be the lead agent on developing any vacant land within the designated zone.
If the city identifies development opportunities, the township agrees not to support that opportunity being located elsewhere in the township.
The city and township will not support any entity such as with tax abatements that wants to move from one jurisdiction to another outside the zone covered from the agreement.
Both the city and township agree to keep confidential any economic development projects until the developer or business owner is ready to make them public.
Both the city and township will apply jointly for grants for economic development in the zone.
DeOrio said North Canton Council and the Jackson Township trustees will hold a joint public hearing on the agreement at Jackson Township Hall at 5 p.m. Oct. 17. Then council and the trustees will hold a vote on the agreement after the hearing.
Past battles between North Canton and Jackson Township
DeOrio said the talks between him and Jackson Township began around April. Fiscal Officer Randy Gonzalez contacted him and congratulated him on the Meijer economic development deal. Gonzalez, who had worked with DeOrio for seven years at the Canton Municipal Court, proposed a meeting.
The times had changed since the hostilities of the annexation battle in 2009 with new officials running North Canton. David Held, as mayor in 2014, persuaded council to reject a proposed economic development agreement with Canton, Jackson Township and Plain Township. Stephan Wilder defeated Held in the mayoral election in 2019, and he and DeOrio began meeting with Jackson Township officials in 2020.
Councilman Daryl Revoldt, who was council president in 2009, said last week that he "wholeheartedly" supports the agreement.
"If we can work together, we can improve the odds of winning major projects. And more importantly, executing on those projects. So we don't have long procedural issues that tie up the shovels that break the ground. ... This is something that can help move a project from concept to deal and done."
Wilder said, "I thought this would be a good tool for us because we positioned ourselves for the future. ... Something that could be beneficial for our community for years to come."
DeOrio said while he's having ongoing discussions regarding economic development projects that could go into the new zone he could not disclose them yet.
Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com. X (formerly known as Twitter): @rwangREP.
This article originally appeared on The Repository: North Canton administrator unveils development deal with Jackson Twp
