SENATOR Wachtmann
A BILL
To amend sections 505.62, 709.02, 709.03, 709.032,
709.033, 709.04, 709.13, 709.14, 709.15, 709.19,
709.21, 929.02, and 5705.31;
to enact new sections
709.031, 709.07, 709.11, and 709.16
and sections
709.013, 709.014, 709.015, 709.021, 709.022,
709.023,
709.024, 709.192, and 5705.315; and to
repeal sections 709.031, 709.07, 709.08, 709.09,
709.11, 709.16,
709.17, and 709.18 of the Revised
Code to revise the laws governing municipal
annexations.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 505.62, 709.02, 709.03, 709.032,
709.033, 709.04, 709.13, 709.14, 709.15, 709.19, 709.21, 929.02,
and 5705.31
be amended and new sections 709.031, 709.07, 709.11,
and 709.16
and sections 709.013, 709.014, 709.015,
709.021,
709.022, 709.023, 709.024, 709.192, and 5705.315
of the Revised
Code be enacted to read as follows:
Sec. 505.62. A board of township trustees may enter into a
contract with, and
may appropriate township general revenue fund
moneys for the services of, an attorney to represent the township
at annexation hearings before the board of county commissioners
and upon any appeal of the board's decision pursuant to section
709.07 or Chapter 2506. of the Revised Code.
The board of township trustees of a township that includes
territory that is proposed to be annexed has standing in any
appeal of the board of county commissioners' decision on the
annexation of township territory that is taken pursuant to
section
709.07 or Chapter 2506. of the Revised Code, if the board
of
township trustees was represented at the annexation hearing
before
the board of county commissioners,
expert witnesses, and
other
consultants as the board determines are necessary for any
potential or
pending annexation action, including proceedings
before a board of
county commissioners or any court. The board
also may appropriate general
revenue fund moneys for any other
expenses it considers necessary that are
related to any potential
or pending annexation actions.
Sec. 709.013. (A) If, after a petition for annexation is
filed
with the board of county commissioners, one or more other
petitions are filed
containing all or a part of the territory
contained in the first petition, the
board shall hear and decide
the petitions in the order in which they were
filed.
(B) The effect of granting any petition
under division (A)
of this section shall be to
delete from any subsequently filed
petition any territory contained in the
petition that was granted.
(C) If two or more petitions for
annexation are filed
seeking to annex part or all of the same territory
and appeals are
subsequently filed under
section 709.07 of the Revised
Code, each
court shall decide the appeal on
the first-filed petition before
considering the appeal in any subsequently
filed petition.
Sec. 709.014. (A) The board of county commissioners may
establish a
reasonable fee or schedule of fees to cover its costs
incurred in any
annexation proceedings that take place under this
chapter. The board also may
require an initial deposit to be paid
at the time a petition for annexation is
filed under sections
709.02 to 709.21 of the
Revised Code
or promptly after that time.
The clerk of the board shall maintain an
accurate and
detailed
accounting of all funds received and expended in the processing of
a
petition for annexation filed under sections 709.02 to 709.21
of
the Revised
Code.
(B) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in
division (E)
of section 709.024 and
division (A) of section 709.03 of the
Revised Code, the board of county
commissioners, by resolution,
may appoint the clerk of the board or the county
administrator to
set the date, time, and place for hearings, and to provide
associated notices to the agent for the petitioners, required
under those
divisions instead of the board.
Sec. 709.015. The procedural requirements set forth in
sections 709.02 to
709.21 of the Revised Code are directory in
nature.
Substantial
compliance with the procedural requirements
of those sections
is sufficient to grant the board of county
commissioners
jurisdiction to hear and render its decision on a
petition for
annexation filed under those sections. The board
shall cure
a procedural defect and shall not deny a
petition for
annexation solely upon the basis of procedural
defects.
Sec. 709.02.
(A) The owners of real estate
adjacent
contiguous to a municipal corporation may, at their option, cause
such territory
to be annexed thereto,
petition for annexation to a
municipal
corporation in the manner provided by sections
709.03
709.02
to 709.11 of the Revised Code.
Application
(B)
Application for
such annexation
shall be
made by
a
petition, addressed to
filed with
the
clerk of the board of county
commissioners of the county in which the territory is located,
and
signed by a majority of the owners of real estate in such
territory.
Such
(C)
The petition
required by this section
shall
contain
the
following:
(A) A full
(1)
The signatures of a majority of the owners
of
real estate in the territory proposed for annexation. The
person
who signs
or the circulator of the petition also shall
write the
date the signature was
made next to the owner's name.
No
signature
obtained more than one hundred eighty days before the
date on
which
the petition is filed shall be counted in
determining the
number of signers of
the petition. Any owner who
signed the
petition may have the
signature
removed before the
document is
filed by delivering a signed statement to the
agent
for the
petitioners expressing the owner's wish to have the
signature
removed.
Upon receiving a signed statement, the agent
for the
petitioners shall strike
through the signature, causing
the
signature to be deleted from the petition.
(2) An accurate legal description
of the perimeter and
an
accurate map or plat of the
territory
sought to be annexed
proposed for annexation;
(B) A statement of the number of owners of real estate in
the territory sought to be annexed;
(C)(3) The name of a person or persons to act as agent for
the petitioners.
The agent for the petitioners may be an
official,
employee, or agent of the municipal
corporation to which
annexation is proposed.
(D) At the time of filing the petition for annexation, the
agent for the petitioners also shall file with the clerk of the
board a list
of all tracts, lots, or parcels in the territory
proposed for annexation,
including
the name and mailing address of
the owner of each tract, lot, or parcel, and
the permanent parcel
number from the county auditor's permanent parcel numbering system
established
under section 319.28 of the Revised Code for each
tract, lot, or parcel. This list shall not
be considered to be a
part of the
petition for annexation, and any error on the list
shall not affect the
validity
of the petition.
(E) As used in sections 709.02 to 709.21
and,
709.38, and
709.39 of the Revised Code, "owner" or
"owners" means any adult
individual
seized of a freehold estate in land who is legally
competent,
the state or any political subdivision as defined in
section 5713.081
of the Revised Code, and any firm, trustee, or
private corporation
that,
any of which is
seized of a freehold
estate in land; except that
individuals,
firms, and corporations
holding easements
and any railroad, utility,
street, and highway
rights-of-way held in fee, by easement, or by dedication
and
acceptance are not
included within
such
those meanings; and no
person, firm, trustee, or private
corporation,
the state, or any
political subdivision,
that has
become an owner
of real estate by
a
conveyance, the primary purpose of which is to affect the number
of owners required to sign
an annexation
a petition
for
annexation, is included
within
such
those meanings.
For purposes
of sections 709.02
to 709.21, 709.38,
and 709.39 of the Revised
Code, the state or any political subdivision shall not be
considered an owner and
shall not be
included in determining the
number of owners needed to sign a petition unless
an authorized
agent of the state or the political subdivision signs the
petition. The authorized agent for the state shall be the
director of
administrative services.
An owner is determined as of the date the petition is filed
with the board
of county commissioners.
If the owner is a
corporation, partnership, business
trust, estate, trust,
organization, association, group,
institution, society, state, or
political subdivision, the
petition shall be signed by a person
who is authorized to sign
for that entity. A person who owns more
than one parcel of real
estate, either individually or as a tenant
in common or by survivorship
tenancy, shall be counted as one
owner for purposes of this chapter.
Sec. 709.021. (A) When a petition signed by all of the
owners
of real estate in the unincorporated territory of a
township proposed for
annexation requests the annexation of that
territory
to a municipal corporation contiguous to that territory
under one of the special procedures provided for annexation in
sections 709.022, 709.023, and 709.024 of the Revised Code,
the
annexation
proceedings shall be conducted under those sections to
the exclusion of
any other provisions of this chapter
unless
otherwise provided in this section or the special procedure
section chosen.
(B) Application for annexation shall be made by a petition
filed with the clerk of the board of county commissioners of the
county in which the territory is located, and the procedures
contained in divisions (C), (D), and (E) of section
709.02 of the
Revised Code shall be followed, except that all owners, not
just a
majority of owners, shall sign the petition.
(C) Except as otherwise provided in this section, only this
section and sections
709.014, 709.015, 709.04, 709.11, 709.12,
709.192, 709.20, and 709.21 of the
Revised Code apply to the
granting of an annexation
described in this section.
(D) As used in sections 709.022 and
709.024 of the Revised
Code, "party" or "parties" means the
municipal corporation to
which annexation is proposed, each township any
portion of which
is included within the territory proposed
for annexation, and the
agent for the petitioners.
Sec. 709.022. (A) A petition filed under section
709.021
of
the Revised Code that requests to follow this section is
for
the
special procedure of annexing land with the consent of all
parties. The
petition shall be accompanied by a certified copy of
an
annexation agreement provided for in section 709.192 of the
Revised Code or of a cooperative
economic development agreement
provided for in section 701.07 of the
Revised Code, that is
entered into by the municipal
corporation and each township any
portion of which is included within the
territory proposed for
annexation. Upon the
receipt of the petition and the applicable
agreement, the board of county
commissioners, at the board's next
regular session, shall
enter upon its journal a resolution
granting
the annexation, without holding a hearing.
(B) Owners who sign a petition requesting that the special
procedure in
this section be followed expressly waive their right
to appeal any
action taken by the board of county commissioners
under this
section. There is no appeal from the
board's decision
under this section in law or in equity.
(C) After the board of county commissioners grants the
petition
for annexation, the
clerk of the board shall deliver a
certified copy of the entire record of the
annexation proceedings,
including all resolutions of the board, signed by a majority of
the members of the board, the petition, map, and all other papers
on file, and the recording of the proceedings, if a copy is
available,
to the auditor or clerk of the municipal
corporation to
which annexation is proposed.
Sec. 709.023. (A) A petition filed under section 709.021
of the Revised Code that requests to follow this section is
for
the special procedure of annexing land into a municipal
corporation when,
subject to division (H) of this section, the
land also is not to be excluded from the township under
section
503.07 of the Revised Code. The owners who sign
this petition by
their signature waive any rights they may have to sue on any
issue
relating to a municipal
corporation requiring a buffer as provided
in this section and waive any
rights to seek a variance
that would
relieve or exempt them from that buffer requirement.
(B) Upon the filing of the petition
in
the office of the
clerk of the board of county commissioners, the clerk shall
cause
the petition to be entered upon the board's
journal at its next
regular session. This entry shall be the
first official act of
the board on the petition.
Within five days after the filing of
the petition, the agent for the
petitioners shall notify in the
manner and form specified in this division the
clerk of the
legislative authority of
the municipal corporation to which
annexation is proposed, the
clerk of each township any portion of
which is included within the
territory proposed for annexation,
and the clerk of the board of
county commissioners of each county
in which the territory
proposed for annexation is located other
than the county in which
the petition is filed. The notice shall
be given by certified
mail, return receipt requested, or by
causing the notice to
be personally served on the appropriate
governmental officer, with
proof of service being by affidavit of
the person who delivered
the notice. The notice shall refer to
the time and date when the
petition was filed and the county in
which it was filed and shall
have attached or shall be accompanied
by a copy of the petition
and any attachments or documents
accompanying the petition as
filed. The proof of service of the
notice shall be filed with the
board of county commissioners with
which the petition
was filed.
(C) Within twenty days after the date that the petition is
filed,
the
legislative authority of the municipal corporation to
which
annexation is proposed shall adopt an ordinance or
resolution
stating what services the municipal corporation will
provide, and
an approximate date by which it will provide them, to
the
territory proposed for annexation, upon annexation. The
municipal corporation
is
entitled in its sole discretion to
provide to the territory
proposed for annexation, upon annexation,
services in addition to
the services described in that ordinance
or resolution.
If the
territory proposed for annexation is subject to zoning
regulations
adopted under either Chapter 303. or 519. of the
Revised
Code at the time the petition is filed, the legislative
authority of the municipal corporation also shall adopt an
ordinance or resolution stating that, if the territory is annexed
and becomes subject to zoning by the municipal corporation and
that municipal zoning permits uses in the annexed territory that
the municipal corporation determines are clearly incompatible with
the
uses permitted under current county or township zoning
regulations
in the
adjacent land remaining within the township
from
which the territory was annexed, the legislative authority of
the
municipal corporation will require, in the zoning ordinance
permitting the incompatible uses, the owner of the annexed
territory to provide a buffer separating the use of the
annexed
territory and the adjacent land remaining within the
township.
For
the purposes of this section, "buffer" includes
open space,
landscaping, fences, walls, and other structured
elements; streets
and street rights-of-way; and bicycle and
pedestrian paths and
sidewalks.
The clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal
corporation to which annexation is proposed shall file the
ordinances or resolutions adopted under this division with the
board of county commissioners within twenty days following the
date that the petition is filed. The board shall make these
ordinances or resolutions available for public inspection.
(D) Within twenty-five days after the date that the petition
is
filed, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation
to which annexation is proposed
and each township any portion of
which is included within the territory proposed for annexation
may
adopt and file with the board of county commissioners an
ordinance
or resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed
annexation.
An objection to the proposed annexation shall be
based solely upon
the petition's failure to meet the conditions
specified in
division (E) of this section.
If the municipal corporation and each of those townships
timely
files an ordinance or resolution consenting to the proposed
annexation, the board at its next regular
session shall enter upon
its journal a resolution granting the
proposed annexation. If,
instead, the municipal corporation or
any of those townships files
an ordinance or resolution that
objects to the proposed
annexation, the board of county
commissioners shall proceed as
provided in division (E) of this
section. Failure of the
municipal corporation or any of those townships to timely file an
ordinance or resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed
annexation shall be deemed to constitute consent by that municipal
corporation or township to the proposed annexation.
(E) Unless the petition is granted under division (D) of
this
section, not less than thirty or more than forty-five days
after
the date that the petition is filed, the board of county
commissioners shall review it to determine if each of the
following conditions has been met:
(1) The petition meets all the requirements set forth in,
and was
filed in the manner provided in, section 709.021 of the
Revised
Code.
(2) The persons who signed the petition are owners of the
real
estate located in the territory proposed for annexation and
constitute all of the owners of real estate in that territory.
(3) The territory proposed for annexation does not exceed
three
hundred and fifty acres.
(4) The territory proposed for annexation shares a contiguous
boundary with the municipal corporation to which annexation is
proposed for a continuous length of at least ten
per cent of the
perimeter of the territory proposed for
annexation.
(5) The annexation will not create an unincorporated area of
the
township that is completely surrounded by the territory
proposed
for annexation.
(6) The municipal corporation to
which annexation is
proposed has agreed to provide to the territory
proposed for
annexation the services specified in the relevant ordinance or
resolution adopted
under division (C) of this section.
(7) If a street or highway will be divided or segmented by
the
boundary line between the township and the municipal
corporation
as to create a road maintenance problem, the municipal
corporation to which
annexation is proposed has agreed as a
condition of the annexation to assume
the maintenance of that
street or highway or to otherwise correct the problem.
As used in
this section,
"street" or "highway" has the same meaning as in
section 4511.01
of the Revised
Code.
(F) Not less than thirty or more than forty-five days after
the
date that the petition is filed, if the petition is not
granted under
division (D) of this section, the board of county
commissioners, if
it finds that each of the conditions specified
in division (E) of
this section has been met,
shall enter upon its
journal a resolution granting the
annexation. If the board of
county commissioners finds that one or more of
the conditions
specified in division (E) of this section has not been met, it
shall
enter upon its journal a resolution that converts the
petition into a
petition filed in accordance with section 709.02
of the
Revised
Code that does not request the special procedure
provided in this
section.
If the petition is so converted, it shall be processed using
the
date that it was filed under division (B) of this section as
its
date of filing for purposes of section 709.03 and related
sections of
the
Revised
Code. The entry of the board's conversion
resolution upon its journal under this division shall constitute
the first
official act of the board on the petition for purposes
of section 709.03 of
the
Revised
Code, and the board shall set the
hearing
required by
that section within five days after the date
of that journalization.
Notifications required under division (B)
of section 709.03 of the
Revised
Code shall be deemed to be
waived. The legislative
authority of the municipal corporation to
which annexation is proposed may
adopt
and file a revised
ordinance or resolution under division (D) of
section 709.03 of
the
Revised
Code or, if no such ordinance
or
resolution is adopted
and filed, the municipal corporation's services-related
ordinance
or resolution filed under division (C) of this section
shall be
deemed to meet the requirements of division (D) of
section 709.03
of the
Revised
Code.
(G) If a petition is granted under division (D) or
(F) of
this
section, the clerk of the board of county commissioners shall
proceed
as provided in division (C)(1) of section 709.033 of the
Revised
Code, except that no recording or hearing exhibits
would
be involved. There is no appeal in law or equity from the board's
entry of any resolution under this section,
but any party may seek
a writ
of mandamus to compel the board of county commissioners to
perform its duties
under this section.
(H) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section
503.07
of the Revised Code, unless otherwise provided in an
annexation agreement
entered
into pursuant to section 709.192 of
the Revised Code or in a
cooperative economic development
agreement entered into pursuant to section
701.07 of the Revised
Code,
territory
annexed into a municipal corporation pursuant to
this section shall not
at any time be excluded from the township
under section 503.07 of the
Revised Code and, thus, remains
subject to the township's real property taxes.
(I) Any owner of land that remains within a township and
that
is adjacent to territory annexed pursuant to this section who
is
directly affected by the failure of the annexing municipal
corporation to enforce compliance with any zoning ordinance it
adopts under division (C) of this section requiring the owner of
the annexed territory to provide a buffer zone, may commence
in
the court of common pleas a civil action against that owner to
enforce
compliance with that buffer requirement within sixty days
after
the date of the vote by the legislative authority of the
annexing
municipal corporation adopting that zoning ordinance.
Sec. 709.024. (A)
A petition filed under
section 709.021
of
the Revised Code that requests to follow this section is
for
the
special procedure of annexing land into a municipal corporation
for the
purpose of undertaking a
significant economic development
project. As used in this
section, "significant economic
development project" means one or more
economic development
projects that can be classified as industrial,
distribution, high
technology, research and development, or
commercial, which
projects may include ancillary residential and retail uses
and
which projects shall satisfy all of the
following:
(1) Total private real and personal property investment
in a
project shall be in excess of ten million dollars through land and
infrastructure, new construction,
reconstruction, installation of
fixtures and equipment, or the addition of
inventory, excluding
investment solely related to the ancillary residential and retail
elements, if any, of the project. As used in this division,
"private real and personal property investment" does not include
payments in lieu of taxes, however characterized, under Chapter
725. or 1728. or sections 5709.40 to 5709.43, 5709.73 to 5709.75,
or
5709.78 to 5709.81 of the Revised Code.
(2) There shall be created by the project an additional
annual payroll in
excess of one
million dollars, excluding payroll
arising
solely out of the retail elements, if any, of the project.
(3) The project has been certified by the state director of
development
as meeting the requirements of divisions (A)(1) and
(2) of this
section.
(B) Upon the filing of the petition under section 709.021 of
the Revised Code
in the office of the clerk of the board of county
commissioners, the
clerk shall cause the petition to be entered
upon the journal of
the board at its next regular session. This
entry shall be the
first official act of the board on the
petition.
Within five days after the filing of the petition, the
agent for the
petitioners shall notify in the manner and form
specified in this division the
clerk of the legislative authority
of
the municipal corporation to which
annexation is proposed, the
clerk of each township any portion of which is included within the
territory proposed for annexation, and the clerk of the board of
county commissioners of each county in which the territory
proposed for annexation is located other than the county in which
the petition is filed. The notice shall be given by certified
mail, return receipt requested, or by causing the notice to
be
personally served on the appropriate governmental officer, with
proof of service being by affidavit of the person who delivered
the notice. The notice shall refer to the time and date when the
petition was filed and the county in which it was filed and shall
have attached or shall be accompanied by a copy of the petition
and any attachments or documents accompanying the petition as
filed. The proof of service of the notice shall be filed with the
board of county commissioners with which the petition
was filed.
(C)(1) Within thirty days after the
petition is filed, the
legislative authority of the municipal
corporation to which
annexation is proposed and each township any
portion of which is
included within the territory proposed for
annexation may adopt
and file with the board of county
commissioners an ordinance or
resolution consenting or objecting
to the proposed annexation. An
objection to the proposed
annexation shall be based solely upon
the petition's failure to
meet the conditions specified in
division (F) of this section.
Failure of the
municipal
corporation or any of those townships to timely file an
ordinance
or resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed
annexation
shall be deemed to constitute consent by that municipal
corporation or township to the proposed annexation.
(2) Within twenty days after receiving the notice required
by division
(B) of this section, the legislative
authority of the
municipal corporation shall adopt, by ordinance
or resolution, a
statement indicating what services the municipal corporation
will
provide or cause to be provided, and an
approximate date by which
it will provide or cause them to be provided, to the
territory
proposed for annexation, upon annexation. If a hearing is to be
conducted
under division (E) of this section, the legislative
authority shall
file the statement
with the clerk of the board of
county commissioners
at least twenty days before the date of the
hearing.
(D) If all parties to the annexation proceedings entitled to
notice under division (B) of this section consent to the
proposed
annexation, a hearing shall not be held, and the board, at its
next regular
session, shall enter upon its journal a
resolution
granting the annexation.
There is no appeal in law or in equity
from the board's
entry of a resolution under this division. The
clerk of the board shall
proceed as provided in division (C)(1) of
section 709.033 of the Revised Code.
(E) Unless the petition is granted under division (D) of
this section, a
hearing
shall be held on the petition. The board
of county commissioners
shall hear the petition at its next
regular session and shall notify the agent
for the petitioners of
the hearing's date,
time,
and place. The agent for the
petitioners shall give notice to the parties
entitled to notice
under division (B) of this section of the date,
time, and place of
the hearing. At the hearing, those parties
and
any owner of real
estate within the territory proposed to be annexed
are entitled to
appear for the purposes described in division (C) of
section
709.032 of the Revised Code.
(F) Within thirty days after a hearing under division
(E) of
this section, the board of
county
commissioners shall enter upon
its journal a resolution granting or denying
the proposed
annexation.
The
resolution shall include specific findings of
fact as to whether
or not each of the conditions listed in this
division has been
met. If the board grants the annexation, the
clerk of the board shall proceed
as provided in division (C)(1) of
section 709.033 of the Revised Code.
The board
shall enter a resolution granting the annexation
if
it finds, based upon a preponderance of the substantial,
reliable,
and probative evidence on the whole record, that each of the
following conditions has been met:
(1) The petition meets all the requirements set forth in,
and
was filed in the manner provided in, section 709.021 of the
Revised
Code.
(2) The persons who signed the petition are
owners of real
estate located in the territory proposed to be annexed in the
petition and
constitute all of the owners of real estate in that
territory.
(3) No street or highway will be divided or segmented by the
boundary line between a township and the municipal corporation as
to
create a road maintenance problem, or if the street or highway
will be so divided or segmented, the municipal corporation has
agreed, as a condition of the annexation, that it will assume the
maintenance of that street or highway. For the purposes of this
division, "street" or "highway" has the same meaning as in
section
4511.01 of the Revised Code.
(4) The municipal corporation to which the territory is
proposed
to be annexed has adopted an ordinance or resolution as
required by
division (C)(2) of this section.
(5) The state director of development has
certified that the
project meets the requirements of divisions
(A)(1) and (2) of this
section and thereby qualifies as a
significant economic
development project. The director's certification is
binding on
the board of county commissioners.
(G) An owner who signed the petition may appeal a decision
of the
board of county commissioners denying the proposed
annexation under
section 709.07 of the Revised Code. No
other
person has standing to appeal the board's decision in law or
in
equity. If the board grants the annexation, there shall be no
appeal in law or in equity.
(H) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section
503.07
of the Revised Code, unless otherwise provided in an
annexation agreement entered into
pursuant to section 709.192 of
the Revised Code or in a cooperative economic development
agreement entered into pursuant to section 701.07 of the Revised
Code, territory annexed into
a municipal corporation pursuant to
this section shall not at any time be
excluded from the township
under section 503.07 of the Revised Code and, thus, remains
subject to the township's real property taxes.
(I) A municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed
is entitled
in its sole discretion to provide to the territory
proposed for annexation,
upon annexation, services in addition to
the services described in the
ordinance or resolution adopted by
the legislative authority of the municipal
corporation under
division (C)(2) of this section.
Sec. 709.03.
The
(A)
Once a petition
required by
described
in
section 709.02 of
the Revised Code
shall be
is filed
in, the
office
clerk of the board of
county commissioners
and the clerk
shall cause the petition to be
entered upon the
record of
proceedings
journal of the board,
which
at its next regular
session. This entry shall
be the first official act of the board
on the
annexation
petition, and shall cause the petition to be
filed in the office
of the county auditor, where it shall be
subject to the
inspection of any interested person. The agent for
the
petitioners shall cause written notice of the filing of the
petition with the board of county commissioners and the date of
such filing to be delivered to the clerk of the legislative
authority of the municipal corporation to which annexation is
proposed and to the clerk of each township any portion of
which is
included within the territory sought to be annexed. Any
person.
Within five days after the filing of the petition, the board
shall
set the date, time, and place for the hearing on
the petition and
shall notify the agent for the petitioners.
The date for the
hearing shall be not less than sixty or more
than ninety days
after the petition is filed with the clerk of
the board.
(B) Upon being
notified of the date of the hearing, the
agent for the
petitioners shall do all of the following:
(1) Within five days cause written notice of the
filing of
the petition with the board of county commissioners,
the date and
time of the filing, and the date, time, and place of the hearing,
to be
delivered to the clerk of the legislative authority of the
municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed, to the
clerk of each township any portion of which is included within
the
territory proposed for annexation, and to the clerk of the
board
of county commissioners of each county in which the
territory
proposed for annexation is located other than the
county in which
the petition is filed. The notice shall
state the date and time
when the petition was filed and the county
in which it was filed
and shall have attached or shall be
accompanied by a copy of the
petition and any attachments or
documents accompanying the
petition as filed. The notice shall
be given by certified mail,
return receipt requested, or by
causing the notice to be
personally served on the appropriate
governmental officer, with
proof of service being by affidavit
of the person who delivered
the notice. Within ten days after
the date of completion of
service, the agent for the petitioners shall file
proof of service
of the
notice with the board of county commissioners
with which
the petition was filed.
(2) Within ten days send by regular mail a copy of the
notice of the board of county commissioners of the hearing to all
owners
of property within the territory proposed to be annexed
whose
names were provided by the agent for the petitioners under
division (D) of section 709.02
of the Revised
Code, along with a
map of the
territory proposed to be annexed and a statement
indicating
where the full petition for annexation can be reviewed.
The
notice also shall include a statement that any owner who
signed
the petition may remove the owner's signature by filing
with the
clerk of the board of county commissioners a written
notice of
withdrawal of the owner's signature within twenty-one
days
after the date the agent mails the notice; the agent shall
include with each
mailed notice a certification of the date of its
mailing for this purpose.
Within ten days
after the mailing of
the notices,
the agent shall file with the board of county
commissioners with
which the petition was filed, a notarized
affidavit
that
a notice was sent by regular mail to these property
owners.
(3) Cause a notice containing the substance of the
petition,
and the date, time, and place of the hearing, to be
published at
least once and at least seven days prior to
the date fixed for the
hearing, in a newspaper of general
circulation in each county in
which territory proposed for
annexation is situated. Within ten
days after the date of
completion of the publication or at the
hearing, whichever comes
first, the agent for the petitioners
shall file proof of publication of the
notice with
the board of
county commissioners with which the petition was filed.
(C) Any owner who signed the
petition for annexation may
remove
his
that signature by filing with the clerk of the board
of
county
commissioners a written notice of withdrawal of
his
the
owner's
signature
within
twenty
twenty-one days after
such a
notice of filing
is delivered to the clerk of the township in
which he
resides
the date the agent for the petitioners mailed the
notice of
the hearing to the owner as provided in division (B)(2)
of this
section. Thereafter,
signatures may be withdrawn or
removed only in the manner
authorized by section 709.032 of the
Revised Code.
(D) Upon receiving the notice described in division
(B)(1)
of this section, the
legislative authority of the municipal
corporation shall adopt, by
ordinance or resolution, a statement
indicating what
services the
municipal corporation
will provide,
and an approximate date by which
it will provide them, to the
territory
proposed for annexation, upon annexation.
The statement
shall be filed with the board of county commissioners at least
twenty days before the date of the hearing. The municipal
corporation is
entitled in its sole discretion to provide to the
territory
proposed for annexation, upon annexation, services in
addition to
the services described in the ordinance or resolution
it adopts
under this division.
Sec. 709.031. (A) Within five days after the
petition for
annexation is filed with the board of county commissioners, the
clerk of the board
shall refer the legal description of the
perimeter and the map
or plat of the territory proposed to be
annexed to the county
engineer for a report upon the accuracy of
the legal description
of the perimeter, map, or plat. Upon
receiving these items, the county
engineer shall file, at least
twenty-five days before the hearing, a written
report with the
board based on the engineer's findings, which shall
not be
conclusive upon the board. Failure of the engineer to
make the
report shall not affect the jurisdiction or duty of the
board to
proceed.
(B) The petition may
be amended without further notice by
leave of the board of county
commissioners and with the consent of
the agent for the petitioners
if the amendment does not add to the
territory embraced in
the original petition and is made at least
fifteen days before
the date of the hearing. The board may
rerefer the legal
description of the perimeter, map, or plat to
the county
engineer if revisions are made in them, for a report on
their
accuracy. Upon receiving these items, the county engineer
shall file, on or
before the date of the hearing, a written report
with the
board based on the engineer's findings, which shall not
be
conclusive upon the board. Failure of the engineer to make the
report shall not affect the jurisdiction or duty of the board to
proceed.
(C) The board of township trustees of any township
containing any
territory proposed for annexation and any owners of
real estate in the
territory proposed for annexation may request
that reasonable proof be
presented of the authority of a person
signing the petition on behalf of any person other than a natural
being, the
state, or a political subdivision of the state. The
request shall be in
writing and be filed with the board of county
commissioners and with the agent for the petitioners at least
fifteen days prior
to the hearing on the petition. When such a
request is filed, the agent for
the petitioners shall present to
the board of county commissioners at the
hearing held under
section 709.032 of the Revised Code sufficient evidence by
affidavit or
testimony to establish that
the owner is a person
other than a natural being, the state, or a political
subdivision
of the state and that the owner authorized the person whose
signature is on the petition to sign the petition on its behalf.
If the
board does not
find the evidence sufficient to establish
this authority, it shall remove the
signature from the petition.
Sec. 709.032. (A) As used in this section, "necessary party"
means the
municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed,
each township any
portion of which is included within the
territory
proposed for annexation, and the agent for the
petitioners.
(B) The hearing provided for in section
709.031
709.03 of
the Revised Code shall be public.
Any
The board of county
commissioners shall make, by electronic means or some other
suitable method, a
record of the hearing. If a request,
accompanied by a deposit to pay the
costs, is filed with the
board
not later than seven days before the hearing, the board shall
provide an
official court reporter to record the hearing. The
record of the hearing need
not be transcribed unless a request,
accompanied by an amount to cover the
cost of transcribing the
record, is filed with the board.
(C) Any person may appear,
in
person or by attorney, and,
after being sworn, may
support or contest the
granting of
the
prayer of the petition
provided for by section 709.02 of the
Revised Code. Affidavits presented in support of or against the
prayer of such petition shall be considered by the board,
but
only
if the affidavits are filed with the board and served as provided
in the
Rules of Civil Procedure upon the necessary parties
to the
annexation proceedings at least fifteen days before the
date of
the hearing; provided that the board shall accept an affidavit
after
the fifteen-day
period if the purpose of the affidavit is
only to establish the affiant's
authority to sign the petition on
behalf of the entity for which the affiant
signed.
Necessary
parties
or their representatives are entitled to
present evidence,
examine and cross-examine witnesses, and comment on all
evidence,
including any affidavits presented to the board under this
division.
(D) At the hearing, any owner who signed the petition for
annexation may appear, and, after being sworn as provided by
section 305.21 of the Revised Code, testify orally that
his
the
owner's signature was obtained by fraud, duress,
misrepresentation,
including any misrepresentation relating to the
provision of
municipal services to the territory proposed to be
annexed, or
undue influence. Any person may testify orally after
being so
sworn in support
of or rebuttal to
such
the prior
testimony by the
owner.
The commissioners, the agent for the
petitioners or his
attorney, and such owner or his attorney may
examine such
witnesses, including the owner
Any witnesses and
owners who
testify shall be subject to cross-examination by the
necessary parties to the annexation proceedings.
If a majority of
the county
commissioners find that
such
the owner's signature was
obtained
under
circumstances that did constitute fraud, duress,
misrepresentation, or undue influence, they shall find the
signature to be void, and shall order it removed from the
petition
as of the time the petition was filed.
The petition may be amended without further notice by
leave
of the county
commissioners with the consent of
the agent for the
petitioners where such amendment does not add to the territory
embraced in the original petition. If any amendment is permitted,
whereby
territory not before embraced is added, the board shall
appoint another time
for the hearing, of which notice shall be
given as specified in section
709.031 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 709.033.
(A) After the hearing
on a petition
to annex
for annexation,
the board of county commissioners shall enter
an
order
upon its
journal
allowing
a resolution granting the
annexation if it
finds,
based upon a preponderance of the
substantial, reliable, and probative
evidence on the whole record,
that
each of the following conditions has
been met:
(A)(1) The petition
contains all matter required in
meets
all the requirements set forth in, and was filed in the manner
provided in, section
709.02 of the Revised Code.
(B) Notice has been published
as required by
section 709.031
of the Revised Code.
(C)(2) The persons
whose names are subscribed to
who signed
the petition
are owners of real estate located in the territory
proposed to be
annexed in the
petition, and, as of the time the
petition was filed
with the board of county
commissioners, the
number of valid signatures on
the petition constituted a majority
of the owners of real estate
in
the
that territory
proposed to be
annexed.
(D)(3) The municipal corporation to which the territory is
proposed to be annexed has complied with division
(B)(D) of
section
709.031
709.03 of the Revised Code.
(E)(4) The territory
included in the annexation
petition
proposed to be annexed is
not unreasonably large; the map or plat
is accurate; and.
(5) On balance, the
general good of the territory
sought
proposed
to be annexed
will be
served,
and the benefits to the
territory proposed to be annexed and
the surrounding area will
outweigh the detriments to the territory proposed to
be annexed
and the surrounding area, if the annexation petition is
granted.
As used in division (A)(5) of this section, "surrounding
area"
means the territory within the unincorporated area of any township
located one-half mile or less from any of the territory proposed
to be
annexed.
(6) No street or highway will be divided or segmented by the
boundary line between a township and the municipal corporation as
to create
a road maintenance problem, or, if a street or highway
will be so divided or
segmented, the municipal corporation has
agreed, as a condition
of the annexation, that it will assume the
maintenance of that street or
highway. For the purposes of this
division, "street" or "highway" has the
same
meaning as in section
4511.01 of the Revised Code.
(B) The board of county commissioners shall
grant
enter upon
its journal a resolution granting or
deny
denying the
petition for
annexation within
ninety
thirty days after the
hearing
set
pursuant to
provided for in section
709.031
709.032
of the Revised
Code.
The resolution shall include specific findings of fact
as
to
whether each of the conditions listed in divisions (A)(1)
to
(6)
of this section has been met. Upon journalization of the
resolution,
the
clerk of the board shall send a certified copy of
it to the agent for the
petitioners, the
clerk of the legislative
authority of the municipal corporation to which
annexation is
proposed,
the clerk of each township in which the territory
proposed for
annexation is located, and the clerk of the board of
county commissioners of
each county in which the territory
proposed for annexation is located other
than the county in which
the petition is filed. The clerk of the board shall
take no
further action until the expiration of thirty days after the date
of journalization.
(C) After the expiration of that thirty-day period, if no
appeal
has
been timely
filed under section 709.07 of the Revised
Code, the clerk of the board of county
commissioners shall take
one of the
following actions:
(1) If the board
of county commissioners grants
granted the
petition
for annexation
it,
the clerk shall
enter on its
journal
all the orders of
the board relating to the annexation and deliver
a certified
transcript of
copy of the entire record of the
annexation
proceedings, including all
orders
resolutions of the
board,
signed by a majority of the members of the board, the
petition, map, and all
other papers on file,
the recording of the
proceedings, if a copy is
available, and exhibits presented at the
hearing relating to the
annexation proceedings, to the auditor or
clerk of the municipal corporation to which annexation is
proposed.
(2) If the board
of county commissioners denies
denied
the
petition
for annexation,
it
the clerk shall send a certified copy
of its
order
resolution
denying the annexation to the agent for
the petitioners and to
the clerk of the municipal corporation to
which the annexation
was proposed.
If, on any appeal of any such
annexation denial, a
court holds that the board's denial was
contrary to law, and if
the court orders the clerk of the board of
county commissioners
to enter on the journal of the board an order
approving the
annexation, then the clerk shall enter the order.
(D)
If an appeal is filed in a timely manner under section
709.07
of the Revised Code from the determination of the board of
county commissioners granting or
denying the petition for
annexation, the clerk of the board shall take further
action only
in accordance with that section.
Sec. 709.04. At the next regular session of the
legislative
authority of the municipal corporation to which
annexation is
proposed, after the expiration of sixty
days from the date of
filing with him as
the delivery
required by
division
(C) of
section
709.022
or division (C)(1) of
section
709.033 of the
Revised Code, the auditor or clerk of
such
that municipal
corporation shall lay the
transcript
resolution of the board
granting the petition and the
accompanying map or plat and
petition
required by such section before the legislative
authority.
Thereupon the
The legislative authority, by
resolution
or
ordinance,
then shall accept or reject the
application
petition
for
annexation. If the legislative authority fails to pass an
ordinance or
resolution accepting the
application
petition for
annexation
within a
period of one hundred twenty days after
the
transcript is
those
documents are laid
before it by the auditor or
clerk, the
application
petition for
annexation
shall be
deemed
considered rejected by the legislative
authority, unless it
has
been prevented from acting by a temporary restraining order,
a
temporary injunction, or some other order of a court.
Sec. 709.07. (A) The agent for the petitioners,
any owner of
real estate in the territory proposed for annexation,
any township
in
which territory proposed for annexation is located, and the
municipal
corporation to which the territory is proposed
to be
annexed may file an appeal under Chapter 2506. of the Revised Code
from
a resolution of the board of county commissioners granting or
denying the
petition. The agent for the petitioners, any township
in which the
territory proposed for annexation is located, and any
municipal corporation to
which the territory is proposed to be
annexed are necessary parties in an
appeal. The filing of a
notice of appeal with the clerk of the board of
county
commissioners shall operate as a stay of execution upon that clerk
and all parties to the appeal, which stay shall not be
lifted
until the court having jurisdiction over the proceedings enters a
final
order affirming or reversing the decision of the board of
county commissioners
and the time limits for an appeal of that
final order have passed without a
notice
of appeal being filed.
(B) Any party filing an appeal from the court of common
pleas or
court of appeals decision in an annexation matter shall
serve on the clerk of
the board of county commissioners a
time-stamped copy of the notice of appeal.
Upon issuance of a
final order of any court regarding an annexation appeal,
the clerk
of the court shall forward a certified copy of the court's order
to
the clerk of the board of county commissioners that rendered
the annexation
decision that was appealed.
(C) If, after all appeals have been exhausted, the final
determination of the court is that the petition for annexation
should be
granted,
the board of county commissioners shall enter
on its
journal a resolution granting the annexation, if such a
resolution has not already been journalized, and the clerk of the
board shall
deliver a certified
copy of that journal entry and of
the entire record of the
annexation proceedings, including all
resolutions of the board,
signed by a majority of the members of
the board, the petition,
map, and all other papers on file, the
transcript of the
proceedings, and exhibits presented at the
hearing relating to
the annexation proceedings, to the auditor or
clerk of the
municipal corporation to which annexation is
proposed. The municipal auditor
or clerk shall
lay these
certified papers, along with the copy of the court's
order, before
the legislative authority at its next regular
meeting. The
legislative authority then shall proceed to accept
or reject the
petition for annexation as provided under section
709.04 of the
Revised
Code.
(D) If, after all appeals have been exhausted, the final
determination of the court is that the petition for annexation
should be
denied,
the board of county commissioners shall enter on
its
journal a resolution
denying the annexation, if such
a
resolution has not already been journalized.
Sec. 709.11. If the territory proposed for annexation under
this chapter
is situated in more than one county, the annexation
proceedings shall be in
the
county in which the majority of
acreage of the territory proposed for
annexation is situated.
Sec. 709.13. The inhabitants, generally, of a municipal
corporation may
enlarge the limits of
such
the municipal
corporation by the
annexation of
contiguous territory in the
manner provided by sections 709.14 to
709.21,
inclusive,
709.16 of
the Revised Code.
Sec. 709.14. The legislative authority of a municipal
corporation
which
that
proposes to annex contiguous territory
shall
pass, by a vote of not
less than a
majority of the members
elected
thereto
to the legislative
authority,
pass an ordinance
authorizing the
annexation to be made, and directing the village
solicitor or city
director of
law of the municipal corporation, or
some one
someone to be named in
the ordinance, to prosecute the
proceedings necessary to effect it.
Sec. 709.15. The application of a municipal corporation to
the board of
county commissioners requesting the annexation of
contiguous
territory
under section 709.16 of the Revised Code
shall
be by
a petition, setting forth that, under an ordinance
of
the legislative
authority of the municipal corporation, the
territory described in the
petition
was authorized to be annexed
to the municipal corporation. The petition shall
contain an
accurate
legal description of the
territory
perimeter and shall be
accompanied by an accurate map or plat
thereof
of the territory
proposed for annexation.
Sec. 709.16. (A) A municipal corporation may
petition the
board
of county commissioners to annex contiguous territory owned
only
by the municipal corporation, a county, or the state. The
clerk of the board
shall cause the petition to be entered upon the
board's journal at its next
regular session. This entry shall be
the first official act of the board upon
the petition.
Proceedings
on the petition shall be conducted under this section
to the
exclusion of any other provisions of this chapter except
for
sections 709.014, 709.14, 709.15, 709.20, and 709.21 of the
Revised
Code.
(B) If the only territory to be annexed is contiguous
territory
owned by a municipal corporation, the board of county
commissioners, by
resolution, shall grant the annexation. The
annexation
shall be complete upon the entry
upon the journal of
the board of the resolution granting
the annexation.
(C) If the only territory to be annexed is contiguous
territory
owned by a county, the board of county commissioners, by
resolution, may grant
or deny the annexation. The annexation
shall be complete upon the entry
upon the journal of the board of
a resolution granting
the annexation.
(D) If the only territory to be annexed is contiguous
territory
owned by the state and the director of administrative
services
has filed a written consent to the granting of the
annexation with
the board of county commissioners, the board, by
resolution, shall
grant the annexation. The annexation shall be
complete upon the
entry upon the
journal of the board of a
resolution granting the annexation.
(E) The board of county commissioners shall act upon a
petition
for annexation filed under this section within thirty
days after receipt
of the petition.
(F) No appeal in law or in equity shall be allowed from the
granting of an
annexation under this section.
(G) When a municipal corporation purchases real property
below
an appraised fair market value and sells or agrees to sell
the property back
to the person that sold it to the municipal
corporation, an annexation
of that property completed under this
section shall be void, and the annexed
property shall become part
of the township from which it was
annexed, if it still exists. If
the township no longer exists,
the board of county commissioners
shall attach the annexed
territory to another township.
(H) Territory annexed under this section shall not be
excluded from
the township under section 503.07 of the Revised
Code.
Sec. 709.19. (A) As used in this section:
(1)
"Annexation period" means a period of one, two, or
three
consecutive twelve-month periods, whichever is less, during
which
one or more municipal corporations annex territory of a
township
that includes at least fifteen per cent but less than
one hundred
per cent of the total taxable value of the real,
public utility,
and tangible personal property subject to
taxation in that
township in the base year. No annexation period
shall include a
month that is part of another annexation period.
(2) "Base year" means the calendar year immediately
preceding an annexation period.
(3) "Taxes" means the
real and public
utility property
taxes
charged by a township in the base year or, in an annexation
under
division (F) of this section, the real, public
utility, and
tangible personal property taxes
that would have been charged by
the township, if no annexation had occurred, in the year
immediately preceding the year in which the payment is made, and
payable after the reduction required by section 319.301 of the
Revised Code but prior to the reduction required by section
319.302 of the Revised Code, and the taxes levied for such year
by
the township against tangible personal property. "Taxes"
excludes
taxes for the payment of debt charges.
(4) "Township taxes in the annexed territory" means
the
taxes against the real, public utility, and tangible personal
property subject to taxation in the base year in territory
annexed
from the township to a municipal corporation during an
annexation
period or, in an annexation under division
(F)
of this section,
the
taxes against the real, public
utility, and tangible
personal
property that would have been subject to taxation in the
annexed
territory
in the year immediately preceding
the year in
which the
payment
is to be made, if no annexation had occurred.
(5) "International airport" means any airport that is:
(a) Designated as an international airport or a landing
rights airport by the United States secretary of the treasury;
(b) Owned and operated by a municipal corporation;
(c) An unincorporated area not contiguous to the municipal
corporation that owns it.
(2)
"Commercial," "industrial," "residential," and
"retail,"
in relation to
property, mean property classified as such by the
tax
commissioner for the purposes of valuing property for
taxation,
except that "commercial," in relation to property, does
not include any
property
classified as "retail."
(B) If
the annexation of territory of any township by one
or
more municipal corporations under this chapter constitutes an
annexation period of twelve consecutive months, except as
provided
in division (G) of this section, each municipal
corporation that
annexed territory of that township during that
annexation period
shall pay the township during each of the seven
years following
the annexation period:
(1) In each of the first three years, one hundred per cent
of the township taxes in the annexed territory;
(2) In the fourth year, eighty per cent of the township
taxes in the annexed territory;
(3) In the fifth year, sixty per cent of the township
taxes
in the annexed territory;
(4) In the sixth year, forty per cent of the township
taxes
in the annexed territory;
(5) In the seventh year, twenty per cent of the township
taxes in the annexed territory.
(C) If the annexation of territory of any township by one
or
more municipal corporations under this chapter constitutes an
annexation period of thirteen to twenty-four consecutive months,
except as provided in division (G) of this section, each
municipal
corporation that annexed territory of that township
during that
annexation period shall pay the township during each
of the six
years following the annexation period:
(1) In each of the first two years, one hundred per cent
of
the township taxes in the annexed territory;
(2) In the third year, eighty per cent of the township
taxes
in the annexed territory;
(3) In the fourth year, sixty per cent of the township
taxes
in the annexed territory;
(4) In the fifty year, forty per cent of the
township taxes
in the annexed territory;
(5) In the sixth year, twenty per cent of the township
taxes
in the annexed territory.
(D) If the annexation of territory of any township by one
or
more municipal corporations under this chapter constitutes an
annexation period of twenty-five to thirty-six consecutive
months,
except as provided in division (G) of this section, each
municipal
corporation that annexed territory of that township
during that
annexation period shall pay the township during each
of the five
years following the annexation period:
(1) In the first year, one hundred per cent of the
township
taxes in the annexed territory;
(2) In the second year, eighty per cent of the township
taxes in the annexed territory;
(3) In the third year, sixty per cent of the township
taxes
in the annexed territory;
(4) In the fourth year, forty per cent of the township
taxes
in the annexed territory;
(5) In the fifth year, twenty per cent of the township
taxes
in the annexed territory
unincorporated territory is annexed to a
municipal
corporation and excluded from a township under section
503.07 of the
Revised Code, upon exclusion of that territory, the
municipal corporation that annexed the territory shall make
payments to the township from which the territory was annexed only
as provided in this section, except that, if the legislative
authority of the municipal corporation enters into an agreement
under section 701.07, 709.191, or 709.192 of the Revised
Code with
the
township from which the territory was annexed that makes
alternate provisions
regarding payments by the municipal
corporation, then
the payment provisions in that agreement shall
apply in lieu of the
provisions of this section.
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this
section,
the municipal corporation that annexed the territory
shall make the following
payments to the
township from which the
territory was annexed with respect to
commercial and industrial
real, personal, and public utility
property taxes using the
property valuation for the year that the
payment is due:
(a) In the first through third years following the
annexation
and exclusion of the territory from the township, one
hundred per cent of the
township taxes in the
annexed territory
that would have been due the township for
commercial and
industrial real, personal, and public utility
property taxes if no
annexation had occurred;
(b) In the fourth and fifth years following the annexation
and the exclusion of the territory from the township, eighty per
cent of
the township taxes in the
annexed territory that would
have been due the
township for commercial and industrial real,
personal, and public
utility property taxes if no annexation had
occurred;
(c) In the sixth and seventh years following the annexation
and exclusion of the territory from the township, sixty-seven and
one-half per
cent of the township taxes in the annexed territory
that would have been due
the township
for commercial and
industrial real, personal,
and public utility property taxes if no
annexation had occurred;
(d) In the eighth year following the
annexation and
exclusion of the territory from the township, sixty-two and
one-half per cent of the township taxes
in the annexed territory
that would have been due the township for commercial
and
industrial real,
personal, and public utility property taxes if no
annexation had
occurred;
(e) In the ninth through eleventh years following the
annexation
and exclusion of the territory from the township,
fifty-seven and one-half per
cent of the township
taxes in the
annexed territory that would have been due the
township for
commercial and industrial real, personal, and public
utility
property taxes if no annexation had occurred;
(f) In the twelfth through fifteenth years following the
annexation and exclusion of the territory from the township,
forty-two and
one-half per cent of the
township taxes in the
annexed territory that would have been due
the township for
commercial and industrial real, personal, and public utility
property taxes if no annexation had occurred.
(2) If there has been an exemption by the municipal
corporation
of commercial and industrial real, personal, or public
utility property
taxes pursuant to section 725.02, 1728.10,
3735.67, 5709.40, 5709.41,
5709.62, or 5709.88 of the Revised
Code, there shall be no
reduction in the payments owed to the
township due to that exemption. The
municipal corporation shall
make payments to the township under division
(C)(1)
of this
section, calculated as if the exemption had not occurred.
(D) The municipal corporation that annexed the territory
shall
make the following payments
to the township from which the
territory was annexed with respect to
residential and retail real
property taxes using the property
valuation for the year that the
payment is due:
(1) In the first through third years following the
annexation
and exclusion of the territory from the township,
eighty-five per cent of
the township taxes in the annexed
territory that would have been due the
township for residential
and retail real property taxes if no
annexation had occurred;
(2) In the fourth through seventh years following the
annexation
and exclusion of the territory from the township,
fifty-two and one-half per
cent of the
township taxes in the
annexed territory that would have been due the
township for
residential and retail real property taxes if no
annexation had
occurred;
(3) In the eighth through eleventh years following the
annexation and exclusion of the territory from the township, forty
per
cent of the township taxes in the annexed territory that would
have been
due the township for residential and retail real
property taxes if
no annexation had occurred;
(4) In the twelfth through fifteenth years following the
annexation and exclusion of the territory from the township,
twenty-seven
and one-half per cent of the township taxes in the
annexed territory that
would have been due the township for
residential and retail real
property taxes if no annexation had
occurred.
(E) If, pursuant to division (F) of
this section, a
municipal corporation annexes an international airport that it
owns, the municipal corporation shall pay the township one
hundred
per cent of the township taxes in the annexed territory
that would
have been due the township, if no annexation had
occurred, for
each of the twenty-five years following the
annexation.
(F)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
chapter,
a board of county commissioners may authorize a
municipal
corporation to annex an international airport that the
municipal
corporation owns. Unless a contract is entered into
pursuant to
division (F)(2) of this section, any municipal
corporation that
annexes an international airport under this
division shall make
payments to the township from which the
international airport is
annexed, in the manner provided in
division (E) of this section.
No territory annexed
pursuant to
this division shall be considered
part of the municipal
corporation for the purposes of subsequent
annexation, except
that the board of county commissioners may
authorize subsequent
annexation under this division if the board
determines that
such
subsequent annexation is necessary to the
continued
operation of the international airport.
(2) The chief executive of a municipal corporation that
annexes territory pursuant to this division may enter into a
contract with the board of township trustees of the township that
loses the territory whereby the township agrees to provide the
annexed territory with police, fire, or other services it is
authorized to provide in exchange for specified consideration as
agreed upon by the board of township trustees and the chief
executive. In no instance shall the consideration received by
the
township be less than the payments that would be required
under
division (F)(1) of this section if no contract were
entered
into.
(G) If after an annexation period for which
payments are
being made or are to be made to a township by one or more
municipal corporations under division (B), (C), or (D) of this
section, the remainder of the unincorporated territory of the
township is annexed to another municipal corporation or
incorporates as a municipal corporation, the balance of the
payments due the township under division (B), (C), or (D) of this
section shall be made to the municipal corporation to which the
remainder of the township territory was annexed or to the
municipal corporation incorporated from the remainder of the
township territory.
No payment shall be made to a municipal corporation
pursuant
to this division unless the remainder of the
unincorporated
territory of the township referred to in this
division constitutes
at least fifty per cent of the area of the
unincorporated area of
the township prior to the annexation
period.
(H) After consultation with the chief executive officer of
the municipal corporation and the board of township trustees, the
county auditor shall determine by which of the following methods
the municipal corporations that annexed township territory shall
pay the township the amounts prescribed in divisions (B) to
(F) of
this section, except that if the payments are made
pursuant to
division (G) of this section, they shall be made by the
first
method listed below:
(1) The county auditor shall issue a warrant semiannually
against the taxes charged and payable against real and public
utility property located in the municipal corporation and the
taxes levied against tangible personal property located in the
municipal corporation, and the county treasurer shall distribute
such amount to the township or, pursuant to division
(G) of
this
section, to the municipal corporation to which the remainder of
the township territory was annexed or to the municipal
corporation
incorporated from the remainder of the township
territory; or
(2) The county budget commission shall pay such amounts to
the township from the amount apportioned to the municipal
corporations from the undivided local government fund. The
payment shall be over and above the amount apportioned to the
township pursuant to section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the Revised
Code, and the apportionment of the municipal corporations shall
be
reduced by like amounts.
(I) Upon written notification to the county auditor and
the
chief executive officer of each municipal corporation that
annexes
township territory during an annexation period, a board
of
township trustees may decline to accept the payments required
under divisions (B), (C), (D), and
(F) of this section, and a
municipal corporation may decline to accept the payments required
under division (G) of this section.
A municipal corporation need not make any payment required
by
this section if its legislative authority enters into an
agreement
under section 709.191 of the Revised Code.
Sec. 709.192. (A) The legislative authority of one
municipal
corporation, by ordinance or resolution,
and the board of township
trustees of one or more townships, by resolution, may enter into
annexation agreements under this section.
(B) An annexation agreement
may be entered into for any
period of time and may be amended at any time in
the
same manner
as it was initially authorized.
(C) Annexation agreements may provide for any
of the
following:
(1) The territory to be annexed;
(2) Any periods of time during which no annexations will be
made and any
areas that will not be annexed;
(3) Land use planning matters;
(4) The provision of joint services and permanent
improvements within
incorporated or unincorporated areas;
(5) The provision of services and improvements by a
municipal corporation
in the unincorporated areas;
(6) The provision of services and improvements by a township
within the
territory of a municipal corporation;
(7) The payment of service fees to a municipal corporation
by a
township;
(8) The payment of service fees to a township by a municipal
corporation;
(9) The reallocation of the minimum mandated levies
established
pursuant to section 5705.31 of the Revised Code
between a
municipal corporation and a township in areas annexed
after the
effective date of this section;
(10) The issuance of notes and bonds and other debt
obligations by a
municipal corporation or township for public
purposes authorized by
or under an annexation agreement and
provision for the
allocation of the payment of the
principal of,
interest on, and other charges and costs of issuing and
servicing
the repayment of the debt;
(11) Agreements by a municipal corporation and township,
with
owners or
developers of land to be annexed, or with both
those landowners and
land developers, concerning the provision of
public services, facilities, and
permanent improvements;
(12) The application of tax
abatement
statutes within the
territory
covered by the annexation agreement subsequent to its
execution;
(13) Changing township boundaries under Chapter 503. of the
Revised Code to
exclude newly annexed territory from the original
township and providing
services to that territory;
(14) Payments in lieu of taxes, if any, to be paid to a
township by a
municipal corporation, which payments may be in
addition to or in lieu of
other payments required by law to be
made to the township by that municipal
corporation;
(15) Any other matter pertaining to the annexation or
development of
publicly or privately owned territory.
(D) Annexation agreements shall not be in
derogation of the
powers granted to municipal corporations by Article
XVIII, Ohio
Constitution, by
any other provisions of the
Ohio Constitution, or
by the provisions of a municipal
charter, nor shall municipal
corporations and townships agree to share
proceeds
of any tax
levy, although those proceeds may be used to make payments
authorized in an annexation agreement.
(E) If any party to an annexation agreement
believes another
party has failed to perform its part of any provision of that
agreement,
including the failure to make any payment of moneys due
under the agreement,
that party shall give notice to the other
party clearly stating what breach
has occurred. The party
receiving the notice has ninety days from the receipt
of that
notice to cure the breach. If the breach has not been cured
within
that ninety-day period, the party that sent the notice may
sue for recovery of
the money due under the agreement, sue for
specific enforcement of the
agreement, or terminate the agreement
upon giving notice of termination to all
the other parties.
(F) In order to
promote economic development or to provide
appropriate state
functions and services to any part of the state,
the state may
become a party to an annexation agreement
upon the
approval of the director of development and with the written
consent
of the
legislative authority of the municipal corporation
and each of the boards of
township trustees that are parties
to
the agreement.
(G) The board of county commissioners, by resolution, or any
person, upon request, may become a party to an annexation
agreement, but only
upon
the approval of the legislative authority
of
the municipal corporation and each of the boards of township
trustees that
are parties
to the agreement, except
that, if the
state is a party to the agreement, the director of development is
responsible for giving the approval.
(H) The powers granted by
this section and any
annexation
agreement entered into under
this section shall be liberally
construed to allow parties to
these agreements to carry out the
agreements' provisions relevant to
government improvements,
facilities, and services, and to
promote and support economic
development and the creation and
preservation of economic
opportunities.
Sec. 709.21. No error, irregularity, or defect in the
proceedings under
sections 709.01 to 709.20, inclusive, of the
Revised Code, shall
render them invalid, if
once annexation has
become final and the
annexed territory has been recognized as a
part of the annexing municipal
corporation,
and taxes levied upon
it as such have been paid, and it
has been subjected to the
authority of the legislative authority of
such
the annexing
municipal corporation, without objection from the inhabitants of
such
territory.
Sec. 929.02. (A) Any person who owns agricultural land
may
file an application with the county auditor to place the land
in
an agricultural district for five years if, during the three
calendar years prior to the year in which that person files the
application, the land has been devoted exclusively to
agricultural
production or devoted to and qualified for payments
or other
compensation under a land retirement or conservation
program under
an agreement with an agency of the federal
government and if:
(1) The land is composed of tracts, lots, or parcels that
total not less than ten acres; or
(2) The activities conducted on the land produced an
average
yearly gross income of at least twenty-five hundred
dollars during
that three-year period or the owner has evidence
of an anticipated
gross income of that amount from those
activities. The owner
shall submit with the application
proof that the owner's land
meets the requirements
established under this
division. If the
county auditor determines that the application
does not meet the
requirements of this section, the county
auditor shall deny the
application and notify the applicant by certified
mail, return
receipt requested, within thirty days of the filing of the
application. The applicant may appeal the denial of the
application to the
court of common pleas of the county in which
the application was filed within thirty days of the receipt of
the
notice. If the county auditor determines that the
application
meets the requirements of this section, the county
auditor shall
approve the application and notify the applicant within
thirty
days of the filing of the application. An application that is
not
denied shall be deemed to be approved. The county auditor
shall
provide an applicant with a copy of an approved application
within
thirty days of the filing of the application. An
application that
is approved is effective upon the date of the
filing of the
application.
The county auditor shall keep a record of all land in the
county that is within an agricultural district, including a copy
of the final action taken by a legislative body regarding
applications modified by a legislative body pursuant to division
(B) of this section.
(B) If the land of a person who files an application under
division (A) of this section is within a municipal corporation or
if an annexation petition that includes the land has been filed
with the board of county commissioners under section
709.03
709.02
of
the Revised Code at the time of the filing, the owner also
shall file a copy of the application for inclusion in an
agricultural
district with the clerk of the legislative body of
the municipal
corporation. No later than thirty days after the
filing of an
application, or, in the case of an annexation
petition filed
pursuant to section
709.03
709.02 of the Revised
Code, no
later than
thirty days after the petition has been
granted, the legislative
body shall conduct a public hearing on
the application. The
clerk of the legislative body shall cause a
notice containing the
substance of the application and the time
and place where it will
be heard to be published in a newspaper of
general circulation in
the county in which the application or
annexation petition is
filed no later than seven days prior to the
time fixed for the
hearing. The clerk of the legislative body
also shall notify the
applicant of the time and place of the
hearing by certified mail
sent no later than ten days prior to the
hearing. Any interested
person or representative of an interested
person may appear
in support of or to
contest the granting of the
application. Affidavits presented in
support of or against the
application shall be considered by the
legislative body. Within
thirty days of the hearing, the
legislative body may approve the
application, modify the
application and approve the application
as modified, or reject
the application. An application that is
not modified or rejected
by a majority vote of the members of the
legislative body shall
be deemed to be approved. Prior to
rejecting an application, the
legislative body shall make every
effort to modify the
application. Modifications may include the
length of time during
which land is considered to be within an
agricultural district,
size of the agricultural district
as well
as,
and any
provisions of
sections 929.03 to 929.05 of the Revised
Code. If the applicant
disapproves of the modifications made by
the legislative body, the applicant
may withdraw the application
to place the land in an agricultural
district. In rejecting or
modifying an application to place land
in an agricultural
district, the legislative body shall
demonstrate that the
rejection or modification is necessary to
prevent a substantial,
adverse effect on the provision of
municipal services within the
municipal corporation, efficient
use of land within the municipal
corporation, the orderly growth
and development of the municipal
corporation, or the public
health, safety, or welfare.
If an annexation petition is denied under section
709.03
709.033 of
the Revised Code,
or if a legislative body fails to
conduct a
hearing in the time prescribed by this section, or if an
application is approved, the application shall be deemed to have
been approved and shall become effective as of the date the
application was filed. An application approved with
modifications
shall become effective as of the date the
application was filed
unless the modification provides otherwise.
The clerk of the legislative body shall notify the
applicant
by certified mail, return receipt requested, sent
within five days
of the decision to approve, modify, or reject an
application for
inclusion of land in an agricultural district.
The clerk of the
legislative body shall also transmit a copy of
the decision to
approve, modify, or reject an application to the
county auditor.
An applicant may appeal a decision to modify or
reject an
application to the court of common pleas of the county
in which
the application was filed within thirty days of the
receipt of the
notice of modification or rejection.
(C) At any time after the first Monday in January and
prior
to the first Monday in March of the year during which an
agricultural district terminates, the owner of land in the
agricultural district may file a renewal application to continue
the inclusion of all or part of the owner's land in an
agricultural
district for a period of time ending on the first
Monday in April
of the fifth year following the renewal
application. The
requirements for continued inclusion in the
agricultural district
and the renewal application procedure shall
be the same as those
required for the original application for
placing land in an
agricultural district. The county auditor
shall notify owners of
land in agricultural districts eligible to
file a renewal
application for continued inclusion in an
agricultural district
on or prior to the first Monday in February
or the date upon
which the county auditor notifies owners of land
valued at
agricultural use value for real property tax purposes of
the
necessity of filing a renewal application to continue valuing
the
land at agricultural use value. On or before the second
Tuesday
after the first Monday in March, the county auditor shall
determine whether the owner of any land in an agricultural
district eligible to file a renewal application failed to file a
renewal application with respect to
such
that land and shall
forthwith
notify each
such owner
of the land by certified mail
that unless
a renewal
application is filed prior to the first
Monday in April, the land
will be removed from the agricultural
district upon its
termination date. An approved renewal
application is effective
on the termination date of the preceding
agricultural district.
Failure of an owner to file a renewal
application prior to the
first Monday in April of the year during
which the owner's agricultural
district terminates shall not
prevent the owner from filing an application to
include the
owner's land in an agricultural district.
Land that is transferred to a new owner during the period
in
which the land is an agricultural district shall continue in
the
agricultural district under the terms of the existing
district
unless the new owner elects to discontinue inclusion in
the
agricultural district and files the election with the county
auditor within sixty days after the transfer. Failure of the new
owner to continue inclusion in the agricultural district for the
duration of the period in which the land is in the agricultural
district is withdrawal from an agricultural district subject to
penalty.
(D) If, at any time during which land is in an
agricultural
district, the owner withdraws the land from the
district, the
owner shall notify the county auditor of the
withdrawal and shall
pay to the county auditor a withdrawal penalty calculated
as
follows:
(1) If the owner's action also disqualifies the owner's
land for any tax savings that it had been receiving under sections
5713.30
to 5713.38 of the Revised Code, the owner shall pay a
percentage of the
amount charged under
section 5713.34 of the
Revised Code that is equal to the average bank prime
rate at the
time the amount charged under that section is required to be
paid.
The withdrawal penalty shall be in addition to the
amount charged
under that section.
(2) If the land had not been receiving any tax savings
under
those sections, or if the owner's action does not
disqualify the
land for tax savings under them, the owner shall
pay a percentage
of the
amount that would have been charged under section 5713.34
of the
Revised Code if the owner's land had been receiving tax
savings and became
disqualified for them in an amount that is
equal to the average bank prime
rate at the time the amount that
would have been charged under that section
would have been
required to be paid.
For the purposes of divisions (D)(1) and
(2) of this section,
the county auditor shall determine the average bank prime
rate
using statistical release H.15, "selected interest rates," a
weekly publication of the federal reserve board, or any successor
publication.
If the statistical release H.15, or its successor,
ceases to contain the bank
prime rate information or ceases to be
published, the county auditor shall
request a written statement of
the average bank prime rate from the federal
reserve bank of
Cleveland or the federal reserve board.
The county auditor shall calculate the amount of the
withdrawal penalty that
is due and shall notify the owner of it.
The auditor also shall note the
withdrawal in the auditor's
records.
The county auditor shall distribute the moneys collected
under
division (D) of
this section in the manner provided in
section
5713.35 of the Revised Code for moneys that the county
auditor collects under that section.
(E) Land that is included in an agricultural district
under
this section and that is subsequently annexed by a
municipal
corporation shall not be subject to division (B) of
this section
either at the time of annexation or at the time of
any subsequent
application or renewal application for inclusion
in the district
if, at the time of annexation, its owner did not
sign a petition
favoring annexation under section 709.02 of the
Revised Code
or
vote for annexation in an election held in
accordance with section
709.17 of the Revised Code. If its owner
did sign a petition
favoring annexation
or vote for annexation,
as provided in
those
sections
that section, or if the owner who
opposed
annexation has
sold or transferred the land to another person who
is keeping the
land in the agricultural district, the land shall
be subject to
division (B) of this section at the time of any
subsequent
application or renewal application for inclusion in
the district.
(F) The director of agriculture shall prescribe the
application and renewal forms required under this section and
shall furnish them to county auditors. In prescribing the forms,
the director shall consult with the tax commissioner to determine
if a single
form can be developed for the purposes of this section
and section 5713.31 of
the Revised Code.
Sec. 5705.31. The county auditor shall present to the
county
budget commission the annual tax budgets submitted
to him
under
sections 5705.01 to 5705.47 of the Revised Code, together
with an
estimate prepared by
such
the auditor of the amount of
any
state
levy, the rate of any school tax levy as previously
determined,
the tax commissioner's estimate of the amount to be
received in
the county library and local government support fund,
and such
other information as the commission requests or the tax
commissioner prescribes. The budget commission shall examine
such
budget and ascertain the total amount proposed to be raised
in the
county for the purposes of each subdivision and other
taxing units
therein
in the county.
The commission shall ascertain that the following levies
have
been properly authorized and, if so authorized, shall
approve them
without modification:
(A) All levies in excess of the ten-mill limitation;
(B) All levies for debt charges not provided for by levies
in excess of the ten-mill limitation, including levies necessary
to pay notes issued for emergency purposes;
(C) The levies prescribed by division (B) of sections
742.33
and 742.34 of the Revised Code;
(D)
A
Except as otherwise provided in this division, a
minimum
levy within the ten-mill limitation for the
current
expense and debt service of each subdivision or taxing
unit, which
shall equal two-thirds of the average levy for
current expenses
and debt service allotted within the
fifteen-mill limitation to
such subdivision or taxing unit during
the last five years the
fifteen-mill limitation was in effect
unless such subdivision or
taxing unit requests an amount
requiring a lower rate. Except as
provided in section 5705.312
of the Revised Code, if the levies
required in divisions (B) and
(C) of this section for the
subdivision or taxing unit equal or
exceed the entire minimum levy
of the subdivision as fixed, the
minimum levies of the other
subdivisions or taxing units shall be
reduced by the commission to
provide for the levies and an
operating levy for the subdivision.
Such additional levy shall
be deducted from the minimum levies of
each of the other
subdivisions or taxing units, but the operating
levy for a school
district shall not be reduced below a figure
equivalent to
forty-five per cent of the millage available within
the ten-mill
limitation after all the levies in divisions (B) and
(C) of this
section have been provided for.
If a municipal corporation and a township have entered into
an
annexation agreement under section 709.192 of the Revised
Code
in
which they agree to reallocate their shares of the minimum
levies established
under this division and if that annexation
agreement is submitted along with
the
annual tax budget of both
the township and the municipal
corporation, then, when determining
the minimum levy under this
division, the auditor shall allocate,
to the extent possible, the
minimum levy for that municipal
corporation and township in
accordance with their annexation
agreement.
(E) The levies prescribed by section 3709.29 of the
Revised
Code.
Divisions (A) to (E) of this section are mandatory and
commissions shall be without discretion to reduce such minimum
levies except as provided in such divisions.
If any debt charge is omitted from the budget, the
commission
shall include it therein.
Sec. 5705.315. With respect to annexations granted on or
after
the effective date of this section and during any tax year
or years within
which any territory annexed to a municipal
corporation is part of a
township, the minimum levy for the
municipal corporation and
township under section 5705.31 of the
Revised Code shall not
be
diminished, except that in the annexed
territory and only during those tax
year
or years, and in order to
preserve the minimum levies of overlapping
subdivisions under
section 5705.31 of the Revised Code so that the full amount of
taxes within the ten-mill limitation may be levied to the extent
possible, the minimum levy of the municipal corporation or
township shall be the lowest of the following amounts:
(A) An amount that when added to the minimum levies of
the
other
overlapping subdivisions equals ten mills;
(B) An amount equal to the minimum levy of the municipal
corporation or township, provided the total minimum levy does not
exceed
ten mills.
The municipal corporation and the township may enter into an
agreement to determine the municipal corporation's and the
township's
minimum levy under this section. If it cannot be
determined what minimum levy is available to each and no agreement
has been entered into by the municipal corporation and township,
the municipal corporation and township shall each receive one-half
of the millage available for use within the portion of the
territory annexed to the municipal corporation that remains
part
of the township.
Section 2. That existing sections 505.62, 709.02, 709.03,
709.032, 709.033, 709.04, 709.13, 709.14, 709.15, 709.19, 709.21,
929.02, and
5705.31
and sections 709.031, 709.07, 709.08, 709.09,
709.11, 709.16, 709.17, and 709.18 of the
Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
Section 3. The provisions of Section 1 of this act shall
apply only to
annexation petitions filed on or after the effective
date of this act.
All annexation petitions filed before the
effective date of this act shall
be processed under the provisions
of Chapter 709. of the Revised Code in
effect at the time a
particular petition was filed.