Another Attempt at a Large Annexation in Bethel Township
Adjoining landowners want to grow Huber Heights by another 300 acres at the expense of Bethel Township.
On Thursday, January 18th, the Board of County Commissioners ackowledged receipt of a Type II Expedited Annexation request of nearly 300 acres in Bethel Township to Huber Heights.
For at least the last thirty years, Huber Heights has agressively annexed large swaths of farmland in the county’s southeast corner. These developments have come at a fairly siginificant price being paid by the residents of the township; most notably through an increased use of township infrastructure and an explosion of students in the township school district. In fact, there are so many residents in the Huber Heights portion of Miami County, that if it was a separate community it would have a larger population than West Milton (the county’s fourth largest community).
A Bit of History
This isn’t the first time this large annexation has been up for public discussion. Last year, the annexation was pulled by the applicants after Huber Heights couldn’t agree to provide services. This time around, not only was the annexation filed, but the request actually increased the annexation size to just under 300 acres, where the old request was around 265 acres.
This publication talked about the annexation issue in previous editions:
Explaining What Happens Next
Type II Expedited Annexations are described in Ohio Revised Code (ORC) Sections 709.023, 709.02, and 709.021. These type of annexations use a distinctive process that allows property owners to annex their land to a municipality without excluding it from the township. This annexation type is unique because it does not necessitate a separate agreement for exclusion from the township.
In the Type II Expedited Annexation process, the role of the Board of County Commissioners end up being critical, but are specifically defined by specific provisions in the Ohio Revised Code. The Board of County Commissioners is primarily responsible for managing the petition once it is received. The Board then reviews the petition to verify that all requirements are met. This includes checking if the petition is signed by all real estate owners in the proposed annexation territory, ensuring the territory shares a contiguous boundary with the municipal corporation for a prescribed length, and confirming that the territory does not exceed 500 acres, as outlined in ORC 709.023(E).
If the conditions are satisfied and there is consent from the municipal corporation the Board of County Commissioners must grant the annexation. Conversely, if the municipal corporation objects, the Board must review these objections based on specified conditions (ORC 709.023(D) and (E)). The Board’s role is pivotal in ensuring compliance with legal requirements and in making the final decision on the annexation petition.
What Can The Township Do?
Meanwhile, the Board of Township Trustees has the authority to adopt and file a resolution or ordinance either consenting to or objecting to the proposed annexation. This must be done within 25 days of the petition filing, as per ORC 709.023(D). However, the Board of Trustees objections can only be based on the failure of the petition to meet the conditions specified in ORC 709.023(E); if the petition meets the legal requirements, the resolution to object holds no weight. The township's role in this process is reduced to being merely ceremonial as it can only express objections to the annexation if the petition is faulty.
Advocating for Reform
Through this process, it’s always tempting to place frustration with the Board of Township Trustees and the Board of County Commissoiners, when in reality the hands of both boards are tied; they must stautorily meet their legal requirements and the rights of landowners that want to be annexed must be balanced along with the desires of adjoining property owners.
In order to prevent these annexations from occuring in the future, State Legislators must be effectively educated and informed on how these large scale annexations are having negative impacts on the community. It is only through a revision of state annexation laws can any meaningful annexation reform be enacted. This publication talked about county efforts to advocate for meaningful annexation reform here:
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