Canfield, trustees consider JEDD

By Ed Runyan | March 13, 2008 at 12:08a.m.

The township sued the city in 2005 over annexation issues.

CANFIELD — The zoning in place in Canfield Township did its job when it turned away the giant retailer Wal-Mart from trying to use residentially zoned land near U.S. Route 224 for a supercenter.

But that doesn’t mean the township is on a mission to scare away commercial development, township Trustee Bill Reese said.

In fact, trustees have started talks with the city of Canfield on the possible creation of a joint economic development district, or JEDD, in the township that trustees hope will attract small businesses and warehousing facilities, Reese said.

Several times a year, businesses contact trustees to ask whether there is an industrial park available. The answer is no, Reese said.

Companies ask the township that question, Reese speculates, because they look on a map at the halfway point between their trips between New York and Chicago or trips between Cleveland and Pittsburgh and see Canfield Township. It causes them to wonder whether there’s space near a highway there where they could build a warehouse.

“We’re a good location for that type of business,” Reese added. “We want to take advantage of our location. We want to remain a bedroom community, but we have to afford to live here, too. We want to generate a tax base, so the people don’t get taxed out of their homes.”

In the case of the land along Route 224, 1,000 feet on the north and south sides of the road from Raccoon Road to the Ohio Turnpike are zoned commercial. Reese says that land has been developed extensively. Now, development should be directed into other areas, he said.

The township and city have had one meeting each in the last two months on creating a JEDD. Both parties say the discussions are preliminary, with Reese saying an actual agreement may still be years away.

The township and village have been talking about a JEDD for several years, but the matter got more momentum recently after the township filed a lawsuit against the city over township property to the west of South Palmyra Road.

Last year, the township and city reached a negotiated settlement in the suit with one of the requirements being the two parties negotiate in a way that resolves annexation and development issues in the township by way of a JEDD or similar agreement.

The lawsuit was filed in 2005 after the city bought 290 acres in the township on the west side of South Palymra road about a half-mile south of Route 224 called Red Gate Farms. The city then bought two 2-acre lots nearby that would have brought the city a short distance away from the Red Gate Farms property.

The lawsuit challenged the validity of the proceedings involved in the purchase of Red Gate Farm and the 2-acre lots. Specifically, the suit said the city violated the Ohio Sunshine Law eight times — five times in 2003 when it bought the land and three times in 2005 when it bought the two 2-acre parcels and sought to annex them into the city. The Sunshine Law, or Open Meetings Act, requires public bodies to take official action in open meetings.

The suit said the township sued the city because it appeared the city was attempting to buy the parcels and annex them into the city so that it could eventually annex Red Gate Farm into the city.

In the judgment entry signed June 18, 2007, by the parties and Judge R. Scott Krichbaum of Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, the city agreed to place a deed restriction on Red Gate, preventing the city from using the land for industrial purposes. The agreement also limits the size of any retail development to 50,000 square feet or less.

The city also agreed to refrain from annexing the 2-acre parcels until at least May 19 this year. The Red Gate Farm land is not connected to any land in the city, so it is not eligible for annexation, township officials say.

Reese said he is not willing to discuss the relevance of the Red Gate property to the JEDD talks because the matter involves pending litigation.

The matter is still pending, he said, because the court could reopen the lawsuit if either party fails to live up to the agreement.

When the township and city meet at 7 p.m. April 2 in Canfield City Hall for the next JEDD meeting, they hope to have maps available that contain land elevations. Such information will help officials determine which areas are the most conducive to extending waterlines and sewer lines, said Charles Tieche, Canfield city manager.