Marysville City Council on Monday approved a pre-annexation agreement with Rockford Development Investments. The developer is looking to bring more than 800 acres from Paris Township into the City of Marysville. Legally, annexations of this type cannot include more than 500 acres so the annexation will occur in three phases.
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Marysville City Council has taken the first step to increase the size of the city by more than 7%.
At Monday night’s city council meeting, the body unanimously approved a pre-annexation agreement for 810.5 acres on the city’s east side.
Council member Deb Groat said she doesn’t think the size and scope of the project can be overemphasized.
“This will have a 7.5% to 9% increase in the acreage of Marysville, Ohio, when it is completely pulled out in 10 to 15 years — 7.5% now with the first 800 acres. When you do step after step, it is going to go to 8.5%, 9% of our acreage,” Groat said.
She added, “This, to me, is arguably the biggest step I have had on council.”
Bart Barok, from Rockford Development Investments (RDI), presented the agreement. He said RDI is looking to develop the 810 acres into a master plan community.
City and development officials stressed that the agreement does not approve the annexation, but lays out a roadmap of what they expect to occur through the process and how both sides will move forward once the annexation process formally begins.
City Council will have final approval on zoning and development decisions through its regular procedure. Additionally, any development will still need to go through appropriate Planning Commission, Board of Zoning Appeals and Design Review Board approval.
According to the agreement, once the land is annexed into the city, it will be rezoned for development. The development will likely include “industrial, commercial, multi-family, attached and single-family residential uses” according to the agreement.
Barok said the annexation and development will not occur all at once, but rather in phases over a period of time.
“It’s a long-term plan,” Barok said.
He said he worked for Nationwide Realty and was part of the team that developed Jerome Village. He said this master plan development could progress similarly.
The plan indicates the developer intends to request a 30-year, 100% Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) agreement for the commercial and industrial properties in the development.
“The TIF districts shall include mutually agreeable service payments in lieu of taxes provisions to ensure an acceptable level of funding for the Marysville Exempted School District and agreed to by the district unless the district is fully reimbursed and its consent is not required (i.e. a ‘non-school TIF’),” according to the agreement.
In addition to TIFs, the developer has said it will pursue a variety of other incentives and funding mechanisms “should such programs be approved by the City Council.”
Revenue generated from the TIFs will be used to fund a portion of or all of the public improvements for the project, including things like the construction and maintenance of roadways, stormwater facilities, extension of utilities, sanitary sewer treatment plants, creation of water and wastewater utility infrastructure and the “soft costs” related to the improvements such as design, engineering, surveying and legal fees.
Barok said that by approving a master plan development with a large footprint, the city is able to ensure there is consistency and an overall plan for development in the area that is more difficult with a “piecemeal” approach to development. He said the city has invested significant money in utility lines and a sewer lift station to be able to develop east of the city’s current limits.
He did explain that Marysville is fortunate that the 810 acres east of the city is owned by just four groups.
“For a city like Marysville to be able to have a master plan is unique,” Barok said.
He said a master plan ensures there won’t be “something crazy” on one of the properties.
Groat assured residents “the city is not committing money to this,” though she said it will commit to some financing options.
Groat said she also wanted to address what she called “a very common misunderstanding about the city grabbing land, the city just wants money.”
“The city of Marysville does not reach out to annex anything,” Groat said.
She explained that city officials do not reach out to property owners about annexation, “it is the owners of the property, the people who want to join in Marysville, the people we welcome in Marysville, but this is not the city taking, grabbing land.”
“The city does not want to grab land,” she said. “These are land owners who are saying, ‘We can maximize our investment in this way. Will the city help us?’ That is a huge difference in my heart.”
Emery said the city has never entered a pre-annexation agreement in the past.
Barok said the agreement “allows for time for all parties to be involved in discussions with infrastructure and public financing.”
Council member Alan Seymour called the process “a textbook of what master planning is supposed to be.”
Council member Donald Boerger agreed. He did say, “What I don’t want to see is a whole lot of housing.”
He said he would like to see a diversity of housing options, especially high-end housing that might entice residents with higher paying jobs to stay inside the city. He also said he hopes the commercial and industrial areas would create the economic development “that Innovation Park is still struggling to see.”
Barak assured the council members there would be “a diversity of product, a diversity of price point.”
Groat said she appreciates the development is being presented as a planned unit development and that planning commission will have approval process, “which makes me feel much better down the road.”
Council member Aaron Carpenter said he appreciates “the transparency and seeing the value in that side of our town and wanting to develop it.”
“I think it is a tremendous opportunity for our city to take advantage of so I am excited about it,” he said.
Resident Kathy Young spoke in support of the potential annexation saying she thinks it is “awesome.”
“We have years to look ahead because it’s not going to get done overnight,” she said.