Developer to withdraw, resubmit annex request

There would be 50
single-family homes on the land, the developer said.

By JEANNE STARMACK

VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER

CANFIELD — A hearing on whether the city will be able to annex 18 acres from the township is likely moot.

Would-be developer Sebastian Rucci, who plans to subdivide the property owned by his father, Victor Rucci, said after the hearing Tuesday before county commissioners in township hall that he plans to withdraw his annexation petition. He will resubmit it after addressing a boundary issue, he said.

The acreage, at 6445 state Route 446, is mostly fallow farmland with a residence on it. Just south of the city, it is near the Mill Creek MetroParks experimental farm and state Route 466 and U.S. Route 62.

Rucci said he eventually plans to subdivide the property into lots for about 50 single-family homes.

He wants to annex the property to the city so it can have sewers and water.

At the hearing, commissioners took testimony from people for and against the annexation.

Against annexation

Bill Arnot, who owns property next to the acreage, said he is “dead against it.” He said he doesn’t want 50 houses next to him.

He said traffic would increase in the area

“Everything would be a detriment,” he said. “It’s still a scenic area. If the meeting wasn’t at 10 this morning, I know we could have gotten more neighbors here.”

Bill Reese, a township trustee, said the annexation would threaten the existence of the township.

“Developers are coming to Canfield Township and picking and choosing what they want to develop,” he said.

“We have one of the best townships in the state of Ohio, and that’s a real plum for Mahoning County. If annexation continues the way it’s going, the township will have to be dissolved,” he said.

Al Schrader, attorney for the township, also said there is no date set for extending utilities to the land, as is required by law.

What the proposal lacks

Marilyn Kenner, chief deputy engineer for Mahoning County, said surveyor Western Reserve Land Consultants did not prepare the annexation proposal to the center line of the state road, which is usual in annexations.

“The municipality is responsible for maintenance of the road in annexations, so it is the engineer’s policy that all annexations go to the center of the road,” she said.

Schrader said not doing so would create a road maintenance problem.

He also said Rucci should have done a study to see how the annexation would affect the unincorporated area within a half-mile of the acreage, and he did not.

Rucci responded that a general good for the area will be the 50 homes added to the tax base and construction jobs to build them.

“Is it wrong for a landowner to want utilities?” he asked. He said he is not a developer who’s “cherry-picking” property, because he’s owned the land for 16 years.

The commissioners said they would decide within 30 days. Rucci said, however, he intends to withdraw his petition and resubmit it after addressing the issue of annexing to the middle of the state road.