Where Will Troy Grow?
A new waterline makes development eastward a real possibility
Last week, the Board of County Commissioners used some of the last of their American Rescue Plan Act funds to put in a new waterline from Troy to Casstown at a cost of just over $5 million. The impetus for the project was providing a stable and reliable source of water for Casstown. The small village in Eastern Miami County has water service lines installed for the houses in the community, but those lines aren’t connected to a water main. Now, with this project, the village has a new source of public water.
But, Miami County wasn’t the only government entity to put funding towards the project. The City of Troy also committed $1.5 Million to help build this water line. This investment wasn’t an example of governmental benevolence, this was a strategic decision that puts a bullseye on the city’s east side for future development.
The agreement that Miami County and the City of Troy came to over this waterline gives Troy ownership of the line on State Route 55 between the current corporate limits of Troy (roughly Stonyridge Avenue) to Sayers Road, equating to roughly a mile and a quarter of new underground pipe.
And what will happen along that mile and a quarter of pipe? New development. As an old friend told me, “Corn fields don’t need waterlines, houses do.” Granted, new residential developments need more than just a water line, but public water is one of the foundational infrastructure necessities that make denser development happen.
And the city’s newly minted Comprehensive Plan shows that the city has designs to grow eastward, after nearly decades of growing on the city’s west side and more recently, the north side. The city’s future land use map, below, shows that the city has planned for single-family residential development along State Route 55 out to Sayers Road.
So, what will this housing look like, and when will this happen?
Well, it’s important to realize that there are no current requests to annex land to the community, nor are there any applications to amend the zoning of the land. Any development that will occur on the city’s eastern edge will more than likely be years away. But, there is a desire to make this area prime for single-family residential development.
There will still need to be decisions made on lot sizes and density, but traditionally, the farther out a subdivision is from the city’s center, the larger the lots tend to be. In other words, the development may look more like Halifax than it does Westbrook when it comes to lot size, but that’s not a guarantee.
Regardless of the size of the lots and the houses on said lots, it is safe to say that whatever is built, these new homes will be very popular, if for no other reason, the kids in these homes will attend the Miami East Local School District. As we have seen with Huber Heights and the Bethel Local Schools, annexation does not change school district boundaries.
The Miami East Local School District is a smaller district, and families are generally happy with the work the district is doing in educating their children. One of the aspects of any new development on the city’s east side will be the impact of inevitable growth of the Miami East school district and how the district handles the influx of new students.
A second impact that will also need to be addressed is the parks and recreational needs of the new neighborhoods that will be established. For years, First Ward Council Member Jeffrey Whidden has talked about the lack of parks and recreational amenities in his ward (the city’s northeast quadrant) and has advocated for such facilities on the city’s northeast side. There is just one public park in the entire northeast quadrant of the community.
The city’s comprehensive plan does put forward policy recommendations that curtail the city’s current practice of allowing developers to pay cash to the city’s park department instead of establishing park facilities within the neighborhoods they create. This policy opportunity could lead to the creation of more parks within the city’s northeastern quadrant, but we will see if the city takes advantage of this opportunity.
What was adopted last week wasn’t just a decision to install a $5 million waterline to help a small village, it was a pivotal decision that will have long term ramifications for communities and school districts here in Miami County for years to come.
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