Residents ask Licking County to abandon Union Township road ahead of housing development

Licking County Commissioners could make a decision this week that could transform a small, rural neighborhood in Union Township and result in thousands of cars traveling a quiet residential street.

The residents of the 17-home Grand Pointe neighborhood off Ohio 37 (Lancaster Road) have petitioned the commissioners to remove about 208 feet of Grand Point Drive and about 422 feet of a plotted, but not constructed, portion of Simeon Drive from public roads.

The Union Township Trustees approved vacating both sections in October.

Grand Pointe residents are concerned the dead end of Grand Pointe Drive could be used to connect a new housing and commercial development to the east with Ohio 37, becoming a major thoroughfare — something residents say the roads weren't built for when the subdivision opened about 20 years ago.

"It's like my community has to pay the price for progress, and that's not a not a great feeling," resident Judd Templin said.

In November, the City of Heath finalized annexing about 187 acres between the dead end of Grand Pointe Drive and Canyon Road, as well as an additional 48 acres on the east side of Canyon Road. The properties were also rezoned in November. The 187 acres were zoned for potentially hundreds of single-family homes and multi-family dwellings. A portion of the 48 acres was zoned for commercial development.

According to zoning adopted by the City of Heath, the minimum lot size for a single-family home would be 7,500 square feet. That would allow for nearly six lots per acre.

Heath Mayor Mark Johns said that as of Dec. 27, no development plans, which would include the number of lots and location of streets, have been submitted to the city.

In addition to any potential development on the annexed land, Microsoft is acquiring more than 200 acres just 3 miles south for more data centers.

Judd Templin said he and his wife, Jessica, moved to Grand Pointe Drive six years ago because it's a close-knit, quiet neighborhood. It has been a great place to raise their four children, ages 10, 8, 4, and 2.

The two-road housing development doesn't have sidewalks, so kids ride their bikes and families walk on the road. If Grand Pointe Drive becomes a connector road, Templin said it would significantly change the neighborhood environment.

The 208 feet of Grand Pointe Drive is currently a paved dead end, and there are no driveways attached to that portion. It was left in place in case the Grand Pointe development ever added another phase of 2-acre lots, just like the original 17 lots, Templin said.

"It was never thought that all of a sudden a city miles and miles away would annex the land so that they could have looser zoning requirements but then make us pay the price by being the opening to this development," he said.

Resident Kerry Hamilton, who shares a property line with the 187 acres, said Grand Pointe residents are OK with the development happening, and their primary concern is about the traffic that will result from the homes and commercial businesses.

"We'd just rather not have it funneled through our small community," Hamilton said.

Templin said Grand Pointe Drive has never been used as an access point for the 187 acres, which are currently farmland. Templin mentioned the Park Trails subdivision on Granville Township land annexed into Newark, built in the early 2000s, that has two access points, both on River Road. Residents want something similar done with this development, routing all the traffic onto Canyon Road.

With the stakes high, almost all the Grand Pointe subdivision residents have been a part of the petition process, Templin said. The group collectively paid for a survey of Grand Pointe and Simeon Drives and advocated to the Union Township Trustees and county commissioners.

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But other Union Township residents have weighed in, Templin said, because the amount of traffic from the development would impact Ohio 37.

"Collectively, I think, everyone from this part of the area is banding together to say, 'Listen, do what you'd like with your development, but again, don't make Union Township and these citizens who own homes in this area pay the price for your development,'" Templin said.

If the commissioners approve vacating the Grand Pointe Drive portion, the 208 feet of pavement would no longer need to be maintained and could be removed, Hamilton said.

The rest of Grand Pointe and Simeon Drives, Templin said, would remain public roads.

Representatives for the owner of the 187 acres could not be reached as of publication.

The Grand Pointe community is at the edge of the Granville Exempted Village Schools' boundary and the majority of the annexed land is within the district. Superintendent Jeff Brown said the district is remaining neutral on the road way issue, but he has been following it.

"Ultimately, it's in the hands of the residents and the county commissioners to make their decision," Brown said. "The school district will manage whatever situation evolves from that decision."

Licking County Commissioner Tim Bubb said commissioners are expected to deliberate the matter at their Thursday meeting and could possibly vote on the two petitions.

Commissioner Rick Black has recused himself from the issue because he owns adjacent farmland to the south of the 187 annexed acres, so only Bubb and Commissioner Duane Flowers will vote, Bubb said.

Bubb said the commissioners will consider and vote on each petition separately. It will take yes votes from both Bubb and Flowers for the roadways to be vacated. "If it's a split vote on either, it's a defeat," Bubb said, meaning Grand Pointe Drive and the undeveloped portion of Simeon Drive would remain in the public right of way.

The commissioners will deliberate publicly and explain their decisions, whatever they decide, Bubb said.

"It's complicated because there's always two sides to everything, and we're trying to weigh that in all fairness to both people that reside there but also to the greater good of greater Licking County," he said. "We have to consider all the aspects of it and we'll consult with our planners and also our legal counsel, and so we'll make a good decision."

mdevito@gannett.com

740-607-2175

Twitter: @MariaDeVito13

This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Residents ask county to close Union Township road ahead of development