Marysville City Council Monday gave final approval to annexation and rezoning of 103 acres north of the city.
In a 5-2 vote, with council members Henk Berbee and Donald Boerger voting in opposition, council approved annexing about 103 acres on the southeast corner of the intersection at Route 31 and Amrine Wood Road, out of Paris Township and into the city.
In a separate, but identical vote, council also voted to rezone the parcel from the township’s Local Business District into the city’s Suburban Residential District.
The vote is a first step for Pulte to move forward with a 300-home development that would be similar to Mill Valley North.
Council member J.R. Rausch said the process, discussion and vote is “what local government is all about.”
He said land use and budget issues are the most difficult discussions and decisions for a local government.
“You don’t all have to agree,” Rausch said. He noted that because of the dissension and discussion, “this development was vetted about as well as it could be vetted.”
Officials have said the development will offer a wide range of house sizes and styles, with prices starting in the low- to mid-$300,000s and ranging to the lower $400,000s. More than 20% of the development would be open space.
Boerger and Berbee each stressed that their opposition is less about this development and more about future development.
“What are we doing as a community to preserve the identity of our town— that is the open space, that is the architecture, that is the homes on East and West Fifth Street going down through my ward?” Boerger said. “My biggest fear in this community is that the houses we are building are bringing in a population that cannot afford the higher taxes that the community is going to need 20 years from now.”
He said local residents already complain about the taxes.
Boerger said his “one pet peeve” of planning commission and design review board is that decisions are made about the project in front of them without considering what could happen to neighboring or nearby properties. He said that is why there are two auto part stores beside each other on Fifth Street.
“Our community is not building community,” Boerger said.
He said he would like to see the zoning code changed to consider how each use connects with other properties.
Berbee said his concern all along is not the 103 acres under consideration but the nearly 300 acres that surround it. He said it is “unwise” to expand without a full plan and infrastructure considerations for all the entire potential area.
Tom Hart, representing Pulte, said a completed traffic study did take into consideration future uses of the nearby land.
Council President Mark Reams said the city has invested a significant amount of money in city utilities and infrastructure, specifically in the area. He said growth is the way to get a return on that investment and to lower the burden for all residents.
“I am not going to vote to invest that money, then vote not to build those houses. That doesn’t make sense,” Reams said.
Council member Alan Seymour said houses bring people and jobs which help pay the bills.
Reams explained that while there is a plan that will be considered, Monday night’s vote did not approve the development, it only serves as a first step. He said planning commission and other boards will need to approve the development details. He also said it is difficult to know what will develop around the housing project because that land is not being sold or developed at this point.
Reams said the development is “an opportunity for the city to move forward with the kind of development we want.”
Following the vote, Reams said he appreciates the perspective and opinions each member brings, adding that each wants what is best for the city.