Piqua Looks to Expand South
Vol. III, No. 100 - Piqua looks to the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission to expand utillty services
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Many of us know that the Troy-Piqua rivalry has their big game this year on September 12th at Troy Memorial Stadium. But, it may be an online meeting the next Thursday, on September 18th that may pit these two communities against each other in another competition; this one in the field of economic development.
The Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission will be holding an online public meeting to talk about a dramatic change to the region’s Water Quality Management Plan that will have implications for Miami County’s industrial future for decades to come. You can learn about the meeting here.
In a nutshell, the City of Piqua is asking for a change to the official boundary that decides which city is responsible for important utility services in the area south of Piqua; this boundary change will change each community’s Facility Planning Area (or FPA). Right now, the boundary is set at Farrington Road, a line that was made back in 2005. Piqua believes this line no longer makes sense, because it does not show which city can actually take care of the sewer and water needs for the nearby areas.
The move has become necessary as Piqua has agressively grown on the city’s southern edge. Developers have bought land to start new projects, and since 2022 the city has annexed about 1,064 acres of land close to and even south of Farrington Road, even though these areas were in Troy’s Facility Planning Area. These lands were brought into the city on purpose, to make a new industrial park near Exit 78 on Interstate 75. Piqua has water and sewer lines already in place along County Road 25-A, which is less than two miles from the land they want to serve.
In 2024, the city worked hard on new plans to stretch water and sewer services along Farrington Road, marking this spot as a key area for future growth. The current map amendement that Piqua is asking for from the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission is focused only on land that was recently annexed, or that Piqua can reach with utilities in the next five years. Engineering studies prove Piqua can serve these places quickly and reliably.
Piqua has wanted to see new growth south of the city for a long time. In 2007, their main city comprehensive plan marked that region as a place where development should happen. To get ready for this growth, Piqua spent $50 million in 2019 for utility investments. For example, the recently investment in the city’s wastewater treatment means the plant can now clean up to 8.7 million gallons every day. At the moment, it only cleans 4.1 million gallons daily, so there is plenty of room for more users to be added to the city without the plant getting overloaded. The city could make the plant even bigger if they need to, going up to 10 million gallons per day.
The current Facility Planning Area boundary on Farrington Road was never a very thoughtful one. Back in 2005, nobody looked closely at which city could actually handle the new development. Now, Piqua argues that things have changed. They have the infrastructure and resources to manage new industrial and commerical developments that will built in the area. The old line no longer helps make sure the right city is put in charge, so Piqua wants it updated. These Facility Planning Area boundaries are designed to ensure that individual communities have areas to grow, but not impede on each other’s utility systems as growth occurs.
On the other hand, Troy does not have strong plans to serve the area near Farrington Road. Miami County, which works with Troy to get water and sewer services, has not invested any money or made plans for the Farrington area in the last five years. Troy does plan to extend services to an area near Eldean Road, but this project is about 1,000 acres south of where Piqua's proposed boundary goes. Their updated city plan from 2024 does not cover the sections of land that Piqua wants to manage, and it does not include a certain parcels, which has been a topic of discussion.
There are no studies or designs showing how Troy could serve areas north of Eldean Road; even the city’s latest comprehensive plan is seen as silent on development by the City of Piqua. In the past, Troy has disagreed with Piqua's FPA amendement requests, saying it might want to serve those areas someday but does not have any real plans or ability to do so at this time.
To find answers, leaders from Troy, Piqua, Miami County, Concord Township, and MVRPC sat down together to talk about solutions and ways to compromise. First, Piqua agreed not to include land from Concord Township in its plan because Miami County is supposed to provide service there through Troy. But then Troy raised a new issues about certain parcels. Troy did not want certain parcels added to Piqua's zone, arguing that because it is next to another parcel owned by the same person in Concord Township, it should stay out even though Troy did not show any proof that it wanted to, or even could, provide services to this property.
At this point, Piqua can be appeased with a compromised solution, shown below. However, Piqua has made it clear that it will more than likely come back to the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission to make more amendements to add more parcels that it belives is in a better position to serve those areas.
Piqua’s request focuses on its actual ability to serve these areas within five years, the open capacity at its treatment plants, and the closeness to the city borders. Piqua worries that these boundary lines, could be used to stop one city from growing, even if it is ready and able to provide services quicker and at a better price. They believe if a city can serve a property best, it should get that chance, especially when no one else can do it in a reasonable way.
The proposed compromise map made by MVRPC is seen as a good first step by Piqua. The city hopes it leads to even better decisions about where the boundary should go. Piqua intends to ask for more changes in the future as things keep changing and new growth happens. The goal is always to set boundaries that match the real ability to serve the community, helping both communities to grow in the best and most responsible way.
The implications for Troy is that this is move continues to shrink the community’s sphere of influence. Piqua with their infrasturucre investements is ready and able to serve areas for industrial and commerical development. Troy is simply not in that position, as they have had a council workshop meeting exploring multi-million dollar plans to add more service to areas currently in Troy’s corporate limits.
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