NEWTON FALLS Townships oppose proposed annexation

The annexation would create an island of Braceville Township inside Newton Falls, a lawyer noted.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- A plan to annex 299 acres to Newton Falls, increasing the size of the village by 20 percent, met with fierce opposition from lawyers representing Braceville and Newton trustees at a public hearing before Trumbull County commissioners.
In terms of acreage, it would be the biggest annexation in Trumbull County in two decades, officials say. The annexation was proposed by David Hanson, who owns the largest portion of the properties: an irregularly shaped 31 acres north of state Route 5 in Braceville, and a second, 268-acre property that straddles both sides of Ravenna-Warren Road and includes 145 acres in Braceville and 123 acres in Newton Township. The two properties are not connected.
Also included in the annexation is an electrical substation owned by Newton Falls, a section of the Ohio Turnpike and railroad tracks owned by CSX.
"I think Newton Falls City has a little better chance of advocating for small business, and this is what I want to get for this corridor," Hanson said. "Commercial, distribution and light manufacturing."
The largely undeveloped property includes a former supermarket distribution center and Hanson's house. Water and sewer service is already available to the property off new lines along Ravenna-Warren Road, but Hanson said he wanted to take advantage of the lower rates Newton Falls offers for village residents.
"Newton Falls electricity is some of the cheapest in the state," he said. "If we are going to draw people to this corridor, we need the cheap electric."
Opposed: Trustees from both townships say they oppose the annexation because it strips the townships of land for potential development and future tax revenue.
"It is Braceville, we want to keep it in Braceville," said Trustee Brian Smith.
County commissioners were presented with a petitioned signed by about 250 Braceville residents opposed to the annexation.
"There isn't any opposition to any development of that land if they want to do it," said Mildred Antolini, a resident of Newton Township. "But why should they go into the city?"
Legal issues: Lawyers for the township trustees raised a number of issues that could potentially scuttle the annexation. A required legal notice to advertise the annexation hearing in a local newspaper first said the property was to be annexed to Warren. The next three times it ran, it suggested that the property was already in Newton Falls.
"Your average citizen, reading the legal ad they printed, would not know what we are talking about today," said Atty. Al Schrader, representing Braceville trustees.
He also argued that the annexation petition was not signed by a majority of landowners involved, because it was not agreed to by CSX or the Ohio Turnpike Commission, which operates tollbooths on a section of the property it owns. The petition was signed by Newton Falls.
The annexation would create an island of Braceville Township inside Newton Falls, he said. Kenmar Land Company, a Ravenna-Warren Road property owner surrounded on all sides by Hanson's property, decided not to be part of the annexation.
In the past, courts have determined that the creation of islands of township land can be cause to deny an annexation request, Schrader said.
"It is not a good idea," he said. "It leads to confusion of services and other problems."
Rapid growth: Courts have also rejected large annexations on the grounds that a municipality would be increasing its size faster than its police, fire and utility service can keep up, he said.
But Newton Falls administrator Robert Eberhart said the annexation to Newton Falls would not present any problems.
"All the property on Warren Road is currently with services," he said. "Much of the anticipated cost for services has already been incurred."
"As the area develops, we will create a tax base and the taxes should serve to provide the additional support services."
siff@vindy.com