PATA History Pages

Violet Township/City of Pickerington Annextion agreement

Thank you Violet Township for the text

NOTE - this is a duplication of the text of the annexation agreement between Violet Township and the City of Pickerington.


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ANNEXATION AGREEMENT

This Agreement is entered into by and between the City Council for the City of Pickerington, Fairfield County ("City" or "City of Pickerington"), and the Board of Trustees of Violet Township, Fairfield County ("Township") (collectively referred to as "the Parties") pursuant to Ohio Revised Code, Section 709.192.

WHEREAS, a petition to annex 362 acres of territory currently in Violet Township into the City of Pickerington was filed with the Fairfield County Board of Commissioners on October 25, 2001; and

WHEREAS, the Board of County Commissioners denied said annexation, the Fairfield County Court of Common Pleas (Case No. 02-CV-579) reversed the Board of County Commissioners, and the Board of Trustees for Violet Township and certain owners within that annexation territory have filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals for the Fifth District, which appeal is still pending; and

WHEREAS, the Parties to this Agreement have determined that it is in the best interest of both Violet Township and the City of Pickerington, as well as the community as a whole, to enter into an agreement resolving the above-referenced appeal and providing for the annexation of the above-referenced territory, and to limit the continued differences between the Parties regarding the annexation of territory in Violet Township to the City of Pickerington and to foster cooperation in this regard; and

WHEREAS, the City of Pickerington City Council has at its meeting on ___________, 2004, passed its ordinance ______________ agreeing to and approving the terms of this Agreement, which Agreement is binding upon the City Council and all City officials, and authorizing _______________ to sign this Agreement on behalf of the City Council; and

WHEREAS, the Violet Township Board of Trustees has at its meeting on ___________, 2004, passed its resolution __________ agreeing to and approving the terms of this Agreement, which Agreement is binding upon the Township and all Township officials and authorizing __________ to sign this Agreement on behalf of the Board of Trustees.

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, the Parties hereby covenant and agree as follows:

SETTLEMENT OF LITIGATION INVOLVING ANNEXATION OF 362 ACRES TO CITY OF PICKERINGTON FROM VIOLET TOWNSHIP

1. Violet Township Board of Trustees hereby agrees that it will withdraw its appeal in Case No. 03-CA-072, with regard to the annexation of 362 acres, and that the annexation will proceed pursuant to the requirements of Ohio Revised Code Chapter 709.

2. The City agrees to make an annual service payment to the Township in an amount approximately equal to the tax revenue the Township will lose upon annexation. Specifically, this annual amount will be calculated as follows:

a) An amount equal to 1.5 mills of the real property valuation within the 362-acre annexation territory, said calculation is to be based on the County Auditor's valuation of the property at the end of the calendar year ending prior to the year in which the payment is made; plus

b) $20 per residential unit and $100 per business within the 362-acre annexation territory. This calculation is to be based on the number of units existing at the end of the calendar year ending prior to the year in which the payment is made.

c) Said payment shall be made upon the City's receipt of its real property taxes on the subject properties from the County Treasurer's Office, and no sooner than January 1 and no later than April 30 of each calendar year following the date of this Agreement.

d) The Township agrees that it will provide the following services within the subject annexation territory: snow removal and ice control services and routine road maintenance (patching, pot hole repair, crack filling). It is anticipated that the service payments will be adequate to cover the costs for these services. However, at no time will the Township's costs for these services exceed the annual service payments received under this paragraph. (Included in the calculation of said costs will be: all direct labor costs, use of equipment at a reasonable hourly rate, and actual cost of materials used.) If costs are found by the Township to exceed the service payments, then the Parties may re-negotiate this paragraph of the Agreement or the City will provide any services needed, or costs therefore, beyond the services that can be paid for by the service payments. In addition, if any portion of the annual service payments received by the Township pursuant to this paragraph remains after the above itemized services have been provided, one half of said remaining amount will be accumulated from year to year and said amount will be made available to pay for up to one half of the cost of road resurfacing within the subject annexation area, when the Parties agree said resurfacing is necessary.

3. Except where legally restricted by contract or otherwise, the City agrees that it will not approve residential density levels in the above-referenced annexation territory that are greater than the densities to which the properties would be limited were the annexation territories not annexed into the City. The Township understands and agrees that, as a result of certain pre-annexation agreements into which the City of Pickerington has entered with individual property owners in the annexation territory, the City may be restricted in its ability to limit the residential densities in the annexation territory that is the subject of this Agreement to the density levels that would exist if the territory were not annexed. In consideration of the covenants set forth in this Agreement between the Parties, the Township hereby releases the City and its elected officials, agents and representatives from all claims, actions and/or causes of action it may have arising out of or relating to the six (6) preannexation agreements (commonly known as the Ebright, Gillilan, Sycamore Creek Church, Leonard, Virginia Homes and Dominion agreements) executed by the City and landowners prior to the date of execution of this Agreement.

POLICY AGREEMENT WITH REGARD TO FUTURE ANNEXATIONS

4. The City agrees that it will not conform its boundaries so as to remove incorporated territory from the Township, pursuant to R.C. 503.07, for a period beginning with the execution by both Parties of this Agreement and continuing through the period of years for which the Joint Economic Development Agreement (JEDD) referenced in Paragraph 8 herein is in effect.

5. It is the understanding and intention of the Parties to this Agreement that the City of Pickerington does not intend to actively encourage annexation of properties into the City for the foreseeable future. Accordingly, the City of Pickerington agrees that, for a period beginning with the execution by both Parties of this Agreement and continuing through a period of ten (10) years, the City a) will not encourage or entice property owners to petition to annex their properties into the City by way of offering incentives, promising zoning or other city benefits or services, paying for the costs of filing or pursuing annexation petitions, including legal costs, or providing the assistance of City officials or employees in the preparation, filing, and pursuit of annexation petitions, and b) will not accept any approved annexation during said period. However, if the City of Pickerington, through formal action of its City Council, and the Violet Township Board of Trustees, by Resolution, both agree that any given annexation is in the best interest of both political subdivisions and the community as a whole, the City's agreements in this paragraph will not apply to said annexation. The agreements set forth in this paragraph do not apply to any property owned by the City, currently or in the future, and used for governmental functions as defined in Ohio Revised Code Section 2744.01, and nothing in this paragraph shall preclude the City from accepting the currently pending 362-acre and 316-acre annexation petitions.

6. The City's agreement to make service payments and the Township's agreement to provide certain road services, as set forth in Paragraph 2 above, will apply to any future annexations for a period beginning with the execution by both Parties of this Agreement and
continuing for a period of ten (10) years.

7. The Township understands and agrees that, as a result of certain pre-annexation agreements into which the City of Pickerington has entered with individual property owners, the City may be restricted in its ability to limit the residential densities to the density levels that would exist if the territory were not annexed. In consideration of the covenants set forth in this Agreement between the Parties, the Township hereby releases the City and its elected officials, agents and representatives from any and all claims, actions and/or causes of action it may have arising out of or relating to the six (6) preannexation agreements (commonly known as the Ebright, Gillilan, Sycamore Creek Church, Leonard, Virginia Homes and Dominion agreements) executed by the City with landowners prior to the date of execution of this Agreement.

8. The agreements set forth in paragraphs 5 and 6 of this Agreement shall be automatically extended for two (2) successive ten (10) year periods unless one party delivers written notice to the other party hereto on or before 90 days prior to the expiration of the term or renewal period of this Agreement, stating its intention to terminate this Agreement at the end of the Agreement term or renewal period.

9. The City agrees to hold harmless and indemnify the Township and its Trustees, agents and representatives from any claims brought by or on behalf of any of the property owners in the annexation territory that do not arise out of any actions by the Township and its Trustees, agents and representatives subsequent to the date of execution of this Agreement with regard to any allegations relating to the pre-annexation agreements entered into between landowners and the City prior to the date of execution of this Agreement.

10. The City and the Township each hereby agrees to make good faith efforts to negotiate a JEDD with the goal of accomplishing its creation within twenty-four months from the date of this Agreement. If the Parties have failed to create a JEDD within that time frame, the Parties will be released from the mutual obligations set forth in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 hereto, except that if both Parties agree to an extension of the time by which the JEDD must have been created, then the obligations set forth in paragraphs 4, 5 and 6 hereto shall remain in effect during the entire time of any such extension or extensions. It is understood that the City and the Township will be the only participants in said JEDD unless both Parties agree to the inclusion of another entity.

11. The terms of this Agreement shall go into effect immediately upon execution by both Parties. However, if, for a reason not within the control of the City, the 362-acre annexation is not successfully annexed into the City, upon a final determination of such a result, the Parties agree that they are released from the terms set forth in paragraph 2 only of this Agreement.

12. In the event that any part, article, section, paragraph, or clause of this Agreement shall be held to be indefinite, invalid, or otherwise unenforceable, the entire Agreement shall not fail on account thereof, and the balance of the Agreement shall continue in full force and effect.

13. The headings preceding portions of this Annexation Agreement have been included in order to separate the terms for the settlement of the 362 lawsuit and the policy agreement for future annexations between the City and the Township, and are intended only to facilitate ease of access in that regard.

The undersigned have read this Agreement, understand all of its terms and its significance, have authority to execute it, and execute it voluntarily. This Agreement is being executed in duplicate originals.



City Council for City of Pickerington Violet Township Board of Trustees

By Date By Date

Annexation Agreement

Violet Township