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Sub. S. B. No. 5 As Reported by the House Local Government and Townships Committee
As Reported by the House Local Government and Townships Committee
124th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2001-2002 |
| |
SENATORS Wachtmann, Harris, Robert Gardner, Carnes, Blessing
REPRESENTATIVES Roman, Driehaus, Coates, Distel, Carano, Sferra, Schmidt, Flowers
A BILL
| To amend sections 505.62, 709.02, 709.03, 709.032, | 1 |
|
709.033, 709.04, 709.13, 709.14, 709.15, 709.19, | 2 |
|
709.21, 929.02, and 5705.31;
to enact new sections | 3 |
|
709.031, 709.07, 709.11, and 709.16
and sections | 4 |
|
709.013, 709.014, 709.015, 709.021, 709.022, | 5 |
|
709.023,
709.024, 709.192, and 5705.315; and to | 6 |
|
repeal sections 709.031, 709.07, 709.08, 709.09, | 7 |
|
709.11, 709.16,
709.17, and 709.18 of the Revised | 8 |
|
Code to revise the laws governing municipal | 9 |
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 505.62, 709.02, 709.03, 709.032, | 11 |
709.033, 709.04, 709.13, 709.14, 709.15, 709.19, 709.21, 929.02, | 12 |
and 5705.31
be amended and new sections 709.031, 709.07, 709.11, | 13 |
and 709.16
and sections 709.013, 709.014, 709.015,
709.021, | 14 |
709.022, 709.023, 709.024, 709.192, and 5705.315
of the Revised | 15 |
Code be enacted to read as follows: | 16 |
|
Sec. 505.62. A board of township trustees may enter into a | 17 |
contract with, and
may appropriate township general revenue fund | 18 |
moneys for the services of, an attorney to represent the township | 19 |
at annexation hearings before the board of county commissioners | 20 |
and upon any appeal of the board's decision pursuant to section | 21 |
709.07 or Chapter 2506. of the Revised Code. | 22 |
The board of township trustees of a township that includes | 23 |
territory that is proposed to be annexed has standing in any | 24 |
appeal of the board of county commissioners' decision on the | 25 |
annexation of township territory that is taken pursuant to
section | 26 |
709.07 or Chapter 2506. of the Revised Code, if the board
of | 27 |
township trustees was represented at the annexation hearing
before | 28 |
the board of county commissioners,
expert witnesses, and
other | 29 |
consultants as the board determines are necessary for any | 30 |
potential or
pending annexation action, including proceedings | 31 |
before a board of
county commissioners or any court. The board | 32 |
also may appropriate general
revenue fund moneys for any other | 33 |
expenses it considers necessary that are
related to any potential | 34 |
or pending annexation actions. | 35 |
Sec. 709.013. (A) If, after a petition for annexation is | 36 |
filed
with the board of county commissioners, one or more other | 37 |
petitions are filed
containing all or a part of the territory | 38 |
contained in the first petition, the
board shall hear and decide | 39 |
the petitions in the order in which they were
filed. | 40 |
(B) The effect of granting any petition
under division (A) | 41 |
of this section shall be to
delete from any subsequently filed | 42 |
petition any territory contained in the
petition that was granted.
| 43 |
(C) If two or more petitions for
annexation are filed | 44 |
seeking to annex part or all of the same territory
and appeals are | 45 |
subsequently filed under
section 709.07 of the Revised
Code, each | 46 |
court shall decide the appeal on
the first-filed petition before | 47 |
considering the appeal in any subsequently
filed petition. | 48 |
Sec. 709.014. (A) The board of county commissioners may | 49 |
establish a
reasonable fee or schedule of fees to cover its costs | 50 |
incurred in any
annexation proceedings that take place under this | 51 |
chapter. The board also may
require an initial deposit to be paid | 52 |
at the time a petition for annexation is
filed under sections | 53 |
709.02 to 709.21 of the
Revised Code
or promptly after that time. | 54 |
The clerk of the board shall maintain an
accurate and
detailed | 55 |
accounting of all funds received and expended in the processing of | 56 |
a
petition for annexation filed under sections 709.02 to 709.21
of | 57 |
the Revised
Code. | 58 |
(B) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in
division (E) | 59 |
of section 709.024 and
division (A) of section 709.03 of the | 60 |
Revised Code, the board of county
commissioners, by resolution, | 61 |
may appoint the clerk of the board or the county
administrator to | 62 |
set the date, time, and place for hearings, and to provide | 63 |
associated notices to the agent for the petitioners, required | 64 |
under those
divisions instead of the board. | 65 |
Sec. 709.015. The procedural requirements set forth in | 66 |
sections 709.02 to
709.21 of the Revised Code are directory in | 67 |
nature.
Substantial
compliance with the procedural requirements | 68 |
of those sections
is sufficient to grant the board of county | 69 |
commissioners
jurisdiction to hear and render its decision on a | 70 |
petition for
annexation filed under those sections. The board | 71 |
shall cure
a procedural defect and shall not deny a
petition for | 72 |
annexation solely upon the basis of procedural
defects. | 73 |
Sec. 709.02.
(A) The owners of real estate
adjacent | 74 |
contiguous to a municipal corporation may, at their option, cause | 75 |
such territory
to be annexed thereto,
petition for annexation to a | 76 |
municipal
corporation in the manner provided by sections
709.03 | 77 |
709.02
to 709.11 of the Revised Code.
Application | 78 |
(B)
Application for
such annexation
shall be
made by
a | 79 |
petition, addressed to
filed with
the
clerk of the board of county | 80 |
commissioners of the county in which the territory is located,
and | 81 |
signed by a majority of the owners of real estate in such | 82 |
territory.
Such | 83 |
(C)
The petition
required by this section
shall
contain
the | 84 |
following: | 85 |
(A) A full
(1)
The signatures of a majority of the owners
of | 86 |
real estate in the territory proposed for annexation. The
person | 87 |
who signs
or the circulator of the petition also shall
write the | 88 |
date the signature was
made next to the owner's name.
No
signature | 89 |
obtained more than one hundred eighty days before the
date on | 90 |
which
the petition is filed shall be counted in
determining the | 91 |
number of signers of
the petition. Any owner who
signed the | 92 |
petition may have the
signature
removed before the
document is | 93 |
filed by delivering a signed statement to the
agent
for the | 94 |
petitioners expressing the owner's wish to have the
signature | 95 |
removed.
Upon receiving a signed statement, the agent
for the | 96 |
petitioners shall strike
through the signature, causing
the | 97 |
signature to be deleted from the petition. | 98 |
(2) An accurate legal description
of the perimeter and
an | 99 |
accurate map or plat of the
territory
sought to be annexed | 100 |
proposed for annexation; | 101 |
(B) A statement of the number of owners of real estate in | 102 |
the territory sought to be annexed; | 103 |
(C)(3) The name of a person or persons to act as agent for | 104 |
the petitioners.
The agent for the petitioners may be an
official, | 105 |
employee, or agent of the municipal
corporation to which | 106 |
annexation is proposed. | 107 |
(D) At the time of filing the petition for annexation, the | 108 |
agent for the petitioners also shall file with the clerk of the | 109 |
board a list
of all tracts, lots, or parcels in the territory | 110 |
proposed for annexation, and all tracts, lots, or
parcels located | 111 |
adjacent to that territory or directly across the
road from it | 112 |
when the road is adjacent to it,
including
the name and mailing | 113 |
address of
the owner of each tract, lot, or parcel, and
the | 114 |
permanent parcel
number from the county auditor's permanent parcel | 115 |
numbering system
established
under section 319.28 of the Revised | 116 |
Code for each
tract, lot, or parcel. This list shall not
be | 117 |
considered to be a
part of the
petition for annexation, and any | 118 |
error on the
list
shall not affect the
validity
of the petition. | 119 |
(E) As used in sections 709.02 to 709.21
and,
709.38, and | 120 |
709.39 of the Revised Code, "owner" or
"owners" means any adult | 121 |
individual
seized of a freehold estate in land who is legally | 122 |
competent,
the state or any political subdivision as defined in | 123 |
section 5713.081
of the Revised Code, and any firm, trustee, or | 124 |
private corporation
that,
any of which is
seized of a freehold | 125 |
estate in land; except that
individuals,
firms, and corporations | 126 |
holding easements
and any railroad, utility,
street, and highway | 127 |
rights-of-way held in fee, by easement, or by dedication
and | 128 |
acceptance are not
included within
such
those meanings; and no | 129 |
person, firm, trustee, or private
corporation,
the state, or any | 130 |
political subdivision,
that has
become an owner
of real estate by | 131 |
a
conveyance, the primary purpose of which is to affect the number | 132 |
of owners required to sign
an annexation
a petition
for | 133 |
annexation, is included
within
such
those meanings.
For purposes | 134 |
of sections 709.02
to 709.21, 709.38,
and 709.39 of the Revised | 135 |
Code, the state or any political subdivision shall not be | 136 |
considered an owner and
shall not be
included in determining the | 137 |
number of owners needed to sign a petition unless
an authorized | 138 |
agent of the state or the political subdivision signs the | 139 |
petition. The authorized agent for the state shall be the | 140 |
director of
administrative services. | 141 |
An owner is determined as of the date the petition is filed | 142 |
with the board
of county commissioners.
If the owner is a | 143 |
corporation, partnership, business
trust, estate, trust, | 144 |
organization, association, group,
institution, society, state, or | 145 |
political subdivision, the
petition shall be signed by a person | 146 |
who is authorized to sign
for that entity. A person who owns more | 147 |
than one parcel of real
estate, either individually or as a tenant | 148 |
in common or by survivorship
tenancy, shall be counted as one | 149 |
owner for purposes of this chapter. | 150 |
Sec. 709.021. (A) When a petition signed by all of the | 151 |
owners
of real estate in the unincorporated territory of a | 152 |
township proposed for
annexation requests the annexation of that | 153 |
territory
to a municipal corporation contiguous to that territory | 154 |
under one of the special procedures provided for annexation in | 155 |
sections 709.022, 709.023, and 709.024 of the Revised Code,
the | 156 |
annexation
proceedings shall be conducted under those sections to | 157 |
the exclusion of
any other provisions of this chapter
unless | 158 |
otherwise provided in this section or the special procedure | 159 |
section chosen. | 160 |
(B) Application for annexation shall be made by a petition | 161 |
filed with the clerk of the board of county commissioners of the | 162 |
county in which the territory is located, and the procedures | 163 |
contained in divisions (C), (D), and (E) of section
709.02 of the | 164 |
Revised Code shall be followed, except that all owners, not
just a | 165 |
majority of owners, shall sign the petition. To be valid, each | 166 |
petition circulated for the special procedure in section 709.022 | 167 |
or 709.023 of the Revised Code shall contain the notice provided | 168 |
for in division (B) of section 709.022 or division (A) of section | 169 |
709.023 of the Revised Code, whichever is applicable. | 170 |
(C) Except as otherwise provided in this section, only this | 171 |
section and sections
709.014, 709.015, 709.04, 709.10, 709.11, | 172 |
709.12,
709.192, 709.20, and 709.21 of the
Revised Code apply to | 173 |
the
granting of an annexation
described in this section. | 174 |
(D) As used in sections 709.022 and
709.024 of the Revised | 175 |
Code, "party" or "parties" means the
municipal corporation to | 176 |
which annexation is proposed, each township any
portion of which | 177 |
is included within the territory proposed
for annexation, and the | 178 |
agent for the petitioners. | 179 |
Sec. 709.022. (A) A petition filed under section
709.021
of | 180 |
the Revised Code that requests to follow this section is
for
the | 181 |
special procedure of annexing land with the consent of all | 182 |
parties. The
petition shall be accompanied by a certified copy of | 183 |
an
annexation agreement provided for in section 709.192 of the | 184 |
Revised Code or of a cooperative
economic development agreement | 185 |
provided for in section 701.07 of the
Revised Code, that is | 186 |
entered into by the municipal
corporation and each township any | 187 |
portion of which is included within the
territory proposed for | 188 |
annexation. Upon the
receipt of the petition and the applicable | 189 |
agreement, the board of county
commissioners, at the board's next | 190 |
regular session, shall
enter upon its journal a resolution | 191 |
granting
the annexation, without holding a hearing. | 192 |
(B) Owners who sign a petition requesting that the special | 193 |
procedure in
this section be followed expressly waive their right | 194 |
to appeal any
action taken by the board of county commissioners | 195 |
under this
section. There is no appeal from the
board's decision | 196 |
under this section in law or in equity. | 197 |
The petition circulated to collect signatures for the special | 198 |
procedure in this section shall contain in boldface capital | 199 |
letters immediately above the heading of the place for signatures | 200 |
on each part of the petition the following: "WHOEVER SIGNS THIS | 201 |
PETITION EXPRESSLY WAIVES THEIR RIGHT TO APPEAL ANY ACTION ON THE | 202 |
PETITION TAKEN BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS. THERE ALSO | 203 |
IS NO APPEAL FROM THE BOARD'S DECISION IN THIS MATTER IN LAW OR IN | 204 |
EQUITY." | 205 |
(C) After the board of county commissioners grants the | 206 |
petition
for annexation, the
clerk of the board shall deliver a | 207 |
certified copy of the entire record of the
annexation proceedings, | 208 |
including all resolutions of the board, signed by a majority of | 209 |
the members of the board, the petition, map, and all other papers | 210 |
on file, and the recording of the proceedings, if a copy is | 211 |
available,
to the auditor or clerk of the municipal
corporation to | 212 |
which annexation is proposed. | 213 |
Sec. 709.023. (A) A petition filed under section 709.021 | 214 |
of the Revised Code that requests to follow this section is
for | 215 |
the special procedure of annexing land into a municipal | 216 |
corporation when,
subject to division (H) of this section, the | 217 |
land also is not to be excluded from the township under
section | 218 |
503.07 of the Revised Code. The owners who sign
this petition by | 219 |
their signature expressly waive their right to appeal in law or | 220 |
equity from the board of county commissioners' entry of any | 221 |
resolution under this section, waive any rights they may have to | 222 |
sue on any
issue
relating to a municipal
corporation requiring a | 223 |
buffer as provided
in this section, and waive any
rights to seek a | 224 |
variance
that would
relieve or exempt them from that buffer | 225 |
requirement. | 226 |
The petition circulated to collect signatures for the special | 227 |
procedure in this section shall contain in boldface capital | 228 |
letters immediately above the heading of the place for signatures | 229 |
on each part of the petition the following: "WHOEVER SIGNS THIS | 230 |
PETITION EXPRESSLY WAIVES THEIR RIGHT TO APPEAL IN LAW OR EQUITY | 231 |
FROM THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' ENTRY OF ANY RESOLUTION | 232 |
PERTAINING TO THIS SPECIAL ANNEXATION PROCEDURE, ALTHOUGH A WRIT | 233 |
OF MANDAMUS MAY BE SOUGHT TO COMPEL THE BOARD TO PERFORM ITS | 234 |
DUTIES REQUIRED BY LAW FOR THIS SPECIAL ANNEXATION PROCEDURE." | 235 |
(B) Upon the filing of the petition
in
the office of the | 236 |
clerk of the board of county commissioners, the clerk shall
cause | 237 |
the petition to be entered upon the board's
journal at its next | 238 |
regular session. This entry shall be the
first official act of | 239 |
the board on the petition.
Within five days after the filing of | 240 |
the petition, the agent for the
petitioners shall notify in the | 241 |
manner and form specified in this division the
clerk of the | 242 |
legislative authority of
the municipal corporation to which | 243 |
annexation is proposed, the
clerk of each township any portion of | 244 |
which is included within the
territory proposed for annexation, | 245 |
the clerk of the board of
county commissioners of each county
in | 246 |
which the territory
proposed for annexation is located other
than | 247 |
the county in which
the petition is filed, and the owners of | 248 |
property adjacent to the territory proposed for annexation or | 249 |
adjacent to a road that is adjacent to that territory and located | 250 |
directly across that road from that territory. The notice shall | 251 |
be given by certified
mail, return receipt requested, or by | 252 |
causing the notice to
be personally served on the appropriate | 253 |
governmental officer or property owner, with
proof of service | 254 |
being by affidavit of
the person who delivered
the notice. The | 255 |
notice shall refer to
the time and date when the
petition was | 256 |
filed and the county in
which it was filed and shall
have attached | 257 |
or shall be accompanied
by a copy of the petition
and any | 258 |
attachments or documents
accompanying the petition as
filed. The | 259 |
proof of service of the
notice shall be filed with the
board of | 260 |
county commissioners with
which the petition
was filed. | 261 |
(C) Within twenty days after the date that the petition is | 262 |
filed,
the
legislative authority of the municipal corporation to | 263 |
which
annexation is proposed shall adopt an ordinance or | 264 |
resolution
stating what services the municipal corporation will | 265 |
provide, and
an approximate date by which it will provide them, to | 266 |
the
territory proposed for annexation, upon annexation. The | 267 |
municipal corporation
is
entitled in its sole discretion to | 268 |
provide to the territory
proposed for annexation, upon annexation, | 269 |
services in addition to
the services described in that ordinance | 270 |
or resolution. | 271 |
If the
territory proposed for annexation is subject to zoning | 272 |
regulations
adopted under either Chapter 303. or 519. of the | 273 |
Revised
Code at the time the petition is filed, the legislative | 274 |
authority of the municipal corporation also shall adopt an | 275 |
ordinance or resolution stating that, if the territory is annexed | 276 |
and becomes subject to zoning by the municipal corporation and | 277 |
that municipal zoning permits uses in the annexed territory that | 278 |
the municipal corporation determines are clearly incompatible with | 279 |
the
uses permitted under current county or township zoning | 280 |
regulations
in the
adjacent land remaining within the township | 281 |
from
which the territory was annexed, the legislative authority of | 282 |
the
municipal corporation will require, in the zoning ordinance | 283 |
permitting the incompatible uses, the owner of the annexed | 284 |
territory to provide a buffer separating the use of the
annexed | 285 |
territory and the adjacent land remaining within the
township.
For | 286 |
the purposes of this section, "buffer" includes
open space, | 287 |
landscaping, fences, walls, and other structured
elements; streets | 288 |
and street rights-of-way; and bicycle and
pedestrian paths and | 289 |
sidewalks. | 290 |
The clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal | 291 |
corporation to which annexation is proposed shall file the | 292 |
ordinances or resolutions adopted under this division with the | 293 |
board of county commissioners within twenty days following the | 294 |
date that the petition is filed. The board shall make these | 295 |
ordinances or resolutions available for public inspection. | 296 |
(D) Within twenty-five days after the date that the petition | 297 |
is
filed, the legislative authority of the municipal corporation | 298 |
to which annexation is proposed
and each township any portion of | 299 |
which is included within the territory proposed for annexation
may | 300 |
adopt and file with the board of county commissioners an
ordinance | 301 |
or resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed
annexation. | 302 |
An objection to the proposed annexation shall be
based solely upon | 303 |
the petition's failure to meet the conditions
specified in | 304 |
division (E) of this section. | 305 |
If the municipal corporation and each of those townships | 306 |
timely
files an ordinance or resolution consenting to the proposed | 307 |
annexation, the board at its next regular
session shall enter upon | 308 |
its journal a resolution granting the
proposed annexation. If, | 309 |
instead, the municipal corporation or
any of those townships files | 310 |
an ordinance or resolution that
objects to the proposed | 311 |
annexation, the board of county
commissioners shall proceed as | 312 |
provided in division (E) of this
section. Failure of the | 313 |
municipal corporation or any of those townships to timely file an | 314 |
ordinance or resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed | 315 |
annexation shall be deemed to constitute consent by that municipal | 316 |
corporation or township to the proposed annexation. | 317 |
(E) Unless the petition is granted under division (D) of | 318 |
this
section, not less than thirty or more than forty-five days | 319 |
after
the date that the petition is filed, the board of county | 320 |
commissioners shall review it to determine if each of the | 321 |
following conditions has been met: | 322 |
(1) The petition meets all the requirements set forth in, | 323 |
and was
filed in the manner provided in, section 709.021 of the | 324 |
Revised
Code. | 325 |
(2) The persons who signed the petition are owners of the | 326 |
real
estate located in the territory proposed for annexation and | 327 |
constitute all of the owners of real estate in that territory. | 328 |
(3) The territory proposed for annexation does not exceed | 329 |
five
hundred acres. | 330 |
(4) The territory proposed for annexation shares a contiguous | 331 |
boundary with the municipal corporation to which annexation is | 332 |
proposed for a continuous length of at least five
per cent of the | 333 |
perimeter of the territory proposed for
annexation. | 334 |
(5) The annexation will not create an unincorporated area of | 335 |
the
township that is completely surrounded by the territory | 336 |
proposed
for annexation. | 337 |
(6) The municipal corporation to
which annexation is | 338 |
proposed has agreed to provide to the territory
proposed for | 339 |
annexation the services specified in the relevant ordinance or | 340 |
resolution adopted
under division (C) of this section. | 341 |
(7) If a street or highway will be divided or segmented by | 342 |
the
boundary line between the township and the municipal | 343 |
corporation
as to create a road maintenance problem, the municipal | 344 |
corporation to which
annexation is proposed has agreed as a | 345 |
condition of the annexation to assume
the maintenance of that | 346 |
street or highway or to otherwise correct the problem.
As used in | 347 |
this section,
"street" or "highway" has the same meaning as in | 348 |
section 4511.01
of the Revised
Code. | 349 |
(F) Not less than thirty or more than forty-five days after | 350 |
the
date that the petition is filed, if the petition is not | 351 |
granted under
division (D) of this section, the board of county | 352 |
commissioners, if
it finds that each of the conditions specified | 353 |
in division (E) of
this section has been met,
shall enter upon its | 354 |
journal a resolution granting the
annexation. If the board of | 355 |
county commissioners finds that one or more of
the conditions | 356 |
specified in division (E) of this section have not been met, it | 357 |
shall
enter upon its journal a resolution that states which of | 358 |
those conditions the board finds have not been met and that denies | 359 |
the
petition. | 360 |
(G) If a petition is granted under division (D) or
(F) of | 361 |
this
section, the clerk of the board of county commissioners shall | 362 |
proceed
as provided in division (C)(1) of section 709.033 of the | 363 |
Revised
Code, except that no recording or hearing exhibits
would | 364 |
be involved. There is no appeal in law or equity from the board's | 365 |
entry of any resolution under this section,
but any party may seek | 366 |
a writ
of mandamus to compel the board of county commissioners to | 367 |
perform its duties
under this section. | 368 |
(H) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section | 369 |
503.07
of the Revised Code, unless otherwise provided in an | 370 |
annexation agreement
entered
into pursuant to section 709.192 of | 371 |
the Revised Code or in a
cooperative economic development | 372 |
agreement entered into pursuant to section
701.07 of the Revised | 373 |
Code,
territory
annexed into a municipal corporation pursuant to | 374 |
this section shall not
at any time be excluded from the township | 375 |
under section 503.07 of the
Revised Code and, thus, remains | 376 |
subject to the township's real property taxes. | 377 |
(I) Any owner of land that remains within a township and | 378 |
that
is adjacent to territory annexed pursuant to this section who | 379 |
is
directly affected by the failure of the annexing municipal | 380 |
corporation to enforce compliance with any zoning ordinance it | 381 |
adopts under division (C) of this section requiring the owner of | 382 |
the annexed territory to provide a buffer zone, may commence
in | 383 |
the court of common pleas a civil action against that owner to | 384 |
enforce
compliance with that buffer requirement whenever the | 385 |
required buffer is not in place before any development of the | 386 |
annexed territory begins. | 387 |
Sec. 709.024. (A)
A petition filed under
section 709.021
of | 388 |
the Revised Code that requests to follow this section is
for
the | 389 |
special procedure of annexing land into a municipal corporation | 390 |
for the
purpose of undertaking a
significant economic development | 391 |
project. As used in this
section, "significant economic | 392 |
development project" means one or more
economic development | 393 |
projects that can be classified as industrial,
distribution, high | 394 |
technology, research and development, or
commercial, which | 395 |
projects may include ancillary residential and retail uses
and | 396 |
which projects shall satisfy all of the
following: | 397 |
(1) Total private real and personal property investment
in a | 398 |
project shall be in excess of ten million dollars through land and | 399 |
infrastructure, new construction,
reconstruction, installation of | 400 |
fixtures and equipment, or the addition of
inventory, excluding | 401 |
investment solely related to the ancillary residential and retail | 402 |
elements, if any, of the project. As used in this division, | 403 |
"private real and personal property investment" does not include | 404 |
payments in lieu of taxes, however characterized, under Chapter | 405 |
725. or 1728. or sections 5709.40 to 5709.43, 5709.73 to 5709.75, | 406 |
or
5709.78 to 5709.81 of the Revised Code. | 407 |
(2) There shall be created by the project an additional | 408 |
annual payroll in
excess of one
million dollars, excluding payroll | 409 |
arising
solely out of the retail elements, if any, of the project. | 410 |
(3) The project has been certified by the state director of | 411 |
development
as meeting the requirements of divisions (A)(1) and | 412 |
(2) of this
section. | 413 |
(B) Upon the filing of the petition under section 709.021 of | 414 |
the Revised Code
in the office of the clerk of the board of county | 415 |
commissioners, the
clerk shall cause the petition to be entered | 416 |
upon the journal of
the board at its next regular session. This | 417 |
entry shall be the
first official act of the board on the | 418 |
petition.
Within five days after the filing of the petition, the | 419 |
agent for the
petitioners shall notify in the manner and form | 420 |
specified in this division the
clerk of the legislative authority | 421 |
of
the municipal corporation to which
annexation is proposed, the | 422 |
clerk of each township any portion of which is included within the | 423 |
territory proposed for annexation, the clerk of the board of | 424 |
county commissioners of each county in which the territory | 425 |
proposed for annexation is located other than the county in which | 426 |
the petition is filed, and the owners of property adjacent to the | 427 |
territory proposed for annexation or adjacent to a road that is | 428 |
adjacent to that territory and located directly across that road | 429 |
from that territory. The notice shall be given by certified
mail, | 430 |
return receipt requested, or by causing the notice to
be | 431 |
personally served on the appropriate governmental officer or | 432 |
property owner, with
proof of service being by affidavit of the | 433 |
person who delivered
the notice. The notice shall refer to the | 434 |
time and date when the
petition was filed and the county in which | 435 |
it was filed and shall
have attached or shall be accompanied by a | 436 |
copy of the petition
and any attachments or documents accompanying | 437 |
the petition as
filed. The proof of service of the notice shall | 438 |
be filed with the
board of county commissioners with which the | 439 |
petition
was filed.
| 440 |
(C)(1) Within thirty days after the
petition is filed, the | 441 |
legislative authority of the municipal
corporation to which | 442 |
annexation is proposed and each township any
portion of which is | 443 |
included within the territory proposed for
annexation may adopt | 444 |
and file with the board of county
commissioners an ordinance or | 445 |
resolution consenting or objecting
to the proposed annexation. An | 446 |
objection to the proposed
annexation shall be based solely upon | 447 |
the petition's failure to
meet the conditions specified in | 448 |
division (F) of this section.
Failure of the
municipal | 449 |
corporation or any of those townships to timely file an
ordinance | 450 |
or resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed
annexation | 451 |
shall be deemed to constitute consent by that municipal | 452 |
corporation or township to the proposed annexation. | 453 |
(2) Within twenty days after receiving the notice required | 454 |
by division
(B) of this section, the legislative
authority of the | 455 |
municipal corporation shall adopt, by ordinance
or resolution, a | 456 |
statement indicating what services the municipal corporation
will | 457 |
provide or cause to be provided, and an
approximate date by which | 458 |
it will provide or cause them to be provided, to the
territory | 459 |
proposed for annexation, upon annexation. If a hearing is to be | 460 |
conducted
under division (E) of this section, the legislative | 461 |
authority shall
file the statement
with the clerk of the board of | 462 |
county commissioners
at least twenty days before the date of the | 463 |
hearing. | 464 |
(D) If all parties to the annexation proceedings entitled to | 465 |
notice under division (B) of this section consent to the
proposed | 466 |
annexation, a hearing shall not be held, and the board, at its | 467 |
next regular
session, shall enter upon its journal a
resolution | 468 |
granting the annexation.
There is no appeal in law or in equity | 469 |
from the board's
entry of a resolution under this division. The | 470 |
clerk of the board shall
proceed as provided in division (C)(1) of | 471 |
section 709.033 of the Revised Code. | 472 |
(E) Unless the petition is granted under division (D) of | 473 |
this section, a
hearing
shall be held on the petition. The board | 474 |
of county commissioners
shall hear the petition at its next | 475 |
regular session and shall notify the agent
for the petitioners of | 476 |
the hearing's date,
time,
and place. The agent for the | 477 |
petitioners shall give notice to the parties
entitled to notice | 478 |
under division (B) of this section of the date,
time, and place of | 479 |
the hearing. At the hearing, those parties
and
any owner of real | 480 |
estate within the territory proposed to be annexed
are entitled to | 481 |
appear for the purposes described in division (C) of
section | 482 |
709.032 of the Revised Code. | 483 |
(F) Within thirty days after a hearing under division
(E) of | 484 |
this section, the board of
county
commissioners shall enter upon | 485 |
its journal a resolution granting or denying
the proposed | 486 |
annexation.
The
resolution shall include specific findings of | 487 |
fact as to whether
or not each of the conditions listed in this | 488 |
division has been
met. If the board grants the annexation, the | 489 |
clerk of the board shall proceed
as provided in division (C)(1) of | 490 |
section 709.033 of the Revised Code. | 491 |
The board
shall enter a resolution granting the annexation
if | 492 |
it finds, based upon a preponderance of the substantial,
reliable, | 493 |
and probative evidence on the whole record, that each of the | 494 |
following conditions has been met: | 495 |
(1) The petition meets all the requirements set forth in, | 496 |
and
was filed in the manner provided in, section 709.021 of the | 497 |
Revised
Code. | 498 |
(2) The persons who signed the petition are
owners of real | 499 |
estate located in the territory proposed to be annexed in the | 500 |
petition and
constitute all of the owners of real estate in that | 501 |
territory. | 502 |
(3) No street or highway will be divided or segmented by the | 503 |
boundary line between a township and the municipal corporation as | 504 |
to
create a road maintenance problem, or if the street or highway | 505 |
will be so divided or segmented, the municipal corporation has | 506 |
agreed, as a condition of the annexation, that it will assume the | 507 |
maintenance of that street or highway. For the purposes of this | 508 |
division, "street" or "highway" has the same meaning as in
section | 509 |
4511.01 of the Revised Code. | 510 |
(4) The municipal corporation to which the territory is | 511 |
proposed
to be annexed has adopted an ordinance or resolution as | 512 |
required by
division (C)(2) of this section. | 513 |
(5) The state director of development has
certified that the | 514 |
project meets the requirements of divisions
(A)(1) and (2) of this | 515 |
section and thereby qualifies as a
significant economic | 516 |
development project. The director's certification is
binding on | 517 |
the board of county commissioners. | 518 |
(G) An owner who signed the petition may appeal a decision | 519 |
of the
board of county commissioners denying the proposed | 520 |
annexation under
section 709.07 of the Revised Code. No
other | 521 |
person has standing to appeal the board's decision in law or
in | 522 |
equity. If the board grants the annexation, there shall be no | 523 |
appeal in law or in equity. | 524 |
(H) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section | 525 |
503.07
of the Revised Code, unless otherwise provided in an | 526 |
annexation agreement entered into
pursuant to section 709.192 of | 527 |
the Revised Code or in a cooperative economic development | 528 |
agreement entered into pursuant to section 701.07 of the Revised | 529 |
Code, territory annexed into
a municipal corporation pursuant to | 530 |
this section shall not at any time be
excluded from the township | 531 |
under section 503.07 of the Revised Code and, thus, remains | 532 |
subject to the township's real property taxes. | 533 |
(I) A municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed | 534 |
is entitled
in its sole discretion to provide to the territory | 535 |
proposed for annexation,
upon annexation, services in addition to | 536 |
the services described in the
ordinance or resolution adopted by | 537 |
the legislative authority of the municipal
corporation under | 538 |
division (C)(2) of this section. | 539 |
Sec. 709.03.
The
(A)
Once a petition
required by
described | 540 |
in
section 709.02 of
the Revised Code
shall be
is filed
in, the | 541 |
office
clerk of the board of
county commissioners
and the clerk | 542 |
shall cause the petition to be
entered upon the
record of | 543 |
proceedings
journal of the board,
which
at its next regular | 544 |
session. This entry shall
be the first official act of the board | 545 |
on the
annexation
petition, and shall cause the petition to be | 546 |
filed in the office
of the county auditor, where it shall be | 547 |
subject to the
inspection of any interested person. The agent for | 548 |
the
petitioners shall cause written notice of the filing of the | 549 |
petition with the board of county commissioners and the date of | 550 |
such filing to be delivered to the clerk of the legislative | 551 |
authority of the municipal corporation to which annexation is | 552 |
proposed and to the clerk of each township any portion of
which is | 553 |
included within the territory sought to be annexed. Any
person.
| 554 |
Within five days after the filing of the petition, the board
shall | 555 |
set the date, time, and place for the hearing on
the petition and | 556 |
shall notify the agent for the petitioners.
The date for the | 557 |
hearing shall be not less than sixty or more
than ninety days | 558 |
after the petition is filed with the clerk of
the board. | 559 |
(B) Upon being
notified of the date of the hearing, the | 560 |
agent for the
petitioners shall do all of the following: | 561 |
(1) Within five days cause written notice of the
filing of | 562 |
the petition with the board of county commissioners,
the date and | 563 |
time of the filing, and the date, time, and place of the hearing, | 564 |
to be
delivered to the clerk of the legislative authority of the | 565 |
municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed, to the | 566 |
clerk of each township any portion of which is included within
the | 567 |
territory proposed for annexation, and to the clerk of the
board | 568 |
of county commissioners of each county in which the
territory | 569 |
proposed for annexation is located other than the
county in which | 570 |
the petition is filed. The notice shall
state the date and time | 571 |
when the petition was filed and the county
in which it was filed | 572 |
and shall have attached or shall be
accompanied by a copy of the | 573 |
petition and any attachments or
documents accompanying the | 574 |
petition as filed. The notice shall
be given by certified mail, | 575 |
return receipt requested, or by
causing the notice to be | 576 |
personally served on the appropriate
governmental officer, with | 577 |
proof of service being by affidavit
of the person who delivered | 578 |
the notice. Within ten days after
the date of completion of | 579 |
service, the agent for the petitioners shall file
proof of service | 580 |
of the
notice with the board of county commissioners
with which | 581 |
the petition was filed. | 582 |
(2) Within ten days send by regular mail a copy of the | 583 |
notice of the board of county commissioners of the hearing to all | 584 |
owners
of property within the territory proposed to be annexed, | 585 |
and to all owners of property adjacent to the territory proposed | 586 |
to be annexed or adjacent to a road that is adjacent to that | 587 |
territory and located directly across that road from that | 588 |
territory,
whose
names were provided by the agent for the | 589 |
petitioners under
division (D) of section 709.02
of the Revised | 590 |
Code, along with a
map of the
territory proposed to be annexed and | 591 |
a statement
indicating
where the full petition for annexation can | 592 |
be reviewed.
The
notice also shall include a statement that any | 593 |
owner who
signed
the petition may remove the owner's signature by | 594 |
filing
with the
clerk of the board of county commissioners a | 595 |
written
notice of
withdrawal of the owner's signature within | 596 |
twenty-one
days
after the date the agent mails the notice; the | 597 |
agent shall
include with each
mailed notice a certification of the | 598 |
date of its
mailing for this purpose.
Within ten days
after the | 599 |
mailing of
the notices,
the agent shall file with the board of | 600 |
county
commissioners with
which the petition was filed, a | 601 |
notarized
affidavit
that
a notice was sent by regular mail to | 602 |
these property
owners. | 603 |
(3) Cause a notice containing the substance of the
petition, | 604 |
and the date, time, and place of the hearing, to be
published at | 605 |
least once and at least seven days prior to
the date fixed for the | 606 |
hearing, in a newspaper of general
circulation in each county in | 607 |
which territory proposed for
annexation is situated. Within ten | 608 |
days after the date of
completion of the publication or at the | 609 |
hearing, whichever comes
first, the agent for the petitioners | 610 |
shall file proof of publication of the
notice with
the board of | 611 |
county commissioners with which the petition was filed. | 612 |
(C) Any owner who signed the
petition for annexation may | 613 |
remove
his
that signature by filing with the clerk of the board
of | 614 |
county
commissioners a written notice of withdrawal of
his
the | 615 |
owner's
signature
within
twenty
twenty-one days after
such a | 616 |
notice of filing
is delivered to the clerk of the township in | 617 |
which he
resides
the date the agent for the petitioners mailed the | 618 |
notice of
the hearing to the owner as provided in division (B)(2) | 619 |
of this
section. Thereafter,
signatures may be withdrawn or | 620 |
removed only in the manner
authorized by section 709.032 of the | 621 |
Revised Code. | 622 |
(D) Upon receiving the notice described in division
(B)(1) | 623 |
of this section, the
legislative authority of the municipal | 624 |
corporation shall adopt, by
ordinance or resolution, a statement | 625 |
indicating what
services the
municipal corporation
will provide, | 626 |
and an approximate date by which
it will provide them, to the | 627 |
territory
proposed for annexation, upon annexation.
The statement | 628 |
shall be filed with the board of county commissioners at least | 629 |
twenty days before the date of the hearing. The municipal | 630 |
corporation is
entitled in its sole discretion to provide to the | 631 |
territory
proposed for annexation, upon annexation, services in | 632 |
addition to
the services described in the ordinance or resolution | 633 |
it adopts
under this division. | 634 |
Sec. 709.031. (A) Within five days after the
petition for | 635 |
annexation is filed with the board of county commissioners, the | 636 |
clerk of the board
shall refer the legal description of the | 637 |
perimeter and the map
or plat of the territory proposed to be | 638 |
annexed to the county
engineer for a report upon the accuracy of | 639 |
the legal description
of the perimeter, map, or plat. Upon | 640 |
receiving these items, the county
engineer shall file, at least | 641 |
twenty-five days before the hearing, a written
report with the | 642 |
board based on the engineer's findings, which shall
not be | 643 |
conclusive upon the board. Failure of the engineer to
make the | 644 |
report shall not affect the jurisdiction or duty of the
board to | 645 |
proceed. | 646 |
(B) The petition may
be amended without further notice by | 647 |
leave of the board of county
commissioners and with the consent of | 648 |
the agent for the petitioners
if the amendment does not add to the | 649 |
territory embraced in
the original petition and is made at least | 650 |
fifteen days before
the date of the hearing. The board may | 651 |
rerefer the legal
description of the perimeter, map, or plat to | 652 |
the county
engineer if revisions are made in them, for a report on | 653 |
their
accuracy. Upon receiving these items, the county engineer | 654 |
shall file, on or
before the date of the hearing, a written report | 655 |
with the
board based on the engineer's findings, which shall not | 656 |
be
conclusive upon the board. Failure of the engineer to make the | 657 |
report shall not affect the jurisdiction or duty of the board to | 658 |
proceed. | 659 |
(C) The board of township trustees of any township | 660 |
containing any
territory proposed for annexation and any owners of | 661 |
real estate in the
territory proposed for annexation may request | 662 |
that reasonable proof be
presented of the authority of a person | 663 |
signing the petition on behalf of any person other than a natural | 664 |
being, the
state, or a political subdivision of the state. The | 665 |
request shall be in
writing and be filed with the board of county | 666 |
commissioners and with the agent for the petitioners at least | 667 |
fifteen days prior
to the hearing on the petition. When such a | 668 |
request is filed, the agent for
the petitioners shall present to | 669 |
the board of county commissioners at the
hearing held under | 670 |
section 709.032 of the Revised Code sufficient evidence by | 671 |
affidavit or
testimony to establish that
the owner is a person | 672 |
other than a natural being, the state, or a political
subdivision | 673 |
of the state and that the owner authorized the person whose | 674 |
signature is on the petition to sign the petition on its behalf. | 675 |
If the
board does not
find the evidence sufficient to establish | 676 |
this authority, it shall remove the
signature from the petition. | 677 |
Sec. 709.032. (A) As used in this section, "necessary party" | 678 |
means the
municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed, | 679 |
each township any
portion of which is included within the | 680 |
territory
proposed for annexation, and the agent for the | 681 |
petitioners. | 682 |
(B) The hearing provided for in section
709.031
709.03 of | 683 |
the Revised Code shall be public.
Any
The board of county | 684 |
commissioners may, or at the request
of any necessary party shall, | 685 |
issue subpoenas for witnesses or for
books, papers, | 686 |
correspondence, memoranda, agreements, or other
documents or | 687 |
records relevant or material to the petition,
directed to the | 688 |
sheriff of each county where the witnesses or
documents or records | 689 |
are found, which subpoenas shall be served
and returned in the | 690 |
same manner as those allowed by the court of
common pleas in | 691 |
criminal cases. The fees and mileage of
sheriffs and witnesses | 692 |
shall be the same as those allowed by the
court of common pleas in | 693 |
criminal cases. The fee and mileage
expenses incurred at the | 694 |
request of a party shall be paid in
advance by the party, and the | 695 |
remainder of the expenses
shall be paid out of fees charged by the | 696 |
board for the
annexation proceedings. In case of disobedience or | 697 |
neglect of any
subpoena served on any person, or the refusal of | 698 |
any witness to
testify to any matter regarding which the witness | 699 |
may be
lawfully interrogated, the court of common pleas of the | 700 |
county
in which the disobedience, neglect, or refusal occurs, or | 701 |
any
judge of that court, on application of the board, any member | 702 |
of the board, or a necessary party, may compel obedience by | 703 |
attachment
proceedings for
contempt as in the case of disobedience | 704 |
of the requirements of a
subpoena issued from the court or a | 705 |
refusal to testify
in the court. An owner of a company, firm, | 706 |
partnership, association, or corporation that is subpeoned may | 707 |
have an agent or attorney appear before the board on that owner's | 708 |
behalf in response to the subpoena. | 709 |
The board of county
commissioners shall make, by electronic | 710 |
means or some other
suitable method, a
record of the hearing. If | 711 |
a request,
accompanied by a deposit to pay the
costs, is filed | 712 |
with the
board
not later than seven days before the hearing, the | 713 |
board shall
provide an
official court reporter to record the | 714 |
hearing. The
record of the hearing need
not be transcribed unless | 715 |
a request,
accompanied by an amount to cover the
cost of | 716 |
transcribing the
record, is filed with the board. | 717 |
(C) Any person may appear,
in
person or by attorney, and, | 718 |
after being sworn, may
support or contest the
granting of
the | 719 |
prayer of the petition
provided for by section 709.02 of the | 720 |
Revised Code. Affidavits presented in support of or against the | 721 |
prayer of such petition shall be considered by the board,
but
only | 722 |
if the affidavits are filed with the board and served as provided | 723 |
in the
Rules of Civil Procedure upon the necessary parties
to the | 724 |
annexation proceedings at least fifteen days before the
date of | 725 |
the hearing; provided that the board shall accept an affidavit | 726 |
after
the fifteen-day
period if the purpose of the affidavit is | 727 |
only to establish the affiant's
authority to sign the petition on | 728 |
behalf of the entity for which the affiant
signed.
Necessary | 729 |
parties
or their representatives are entitled to
present evidence, | 730 |
examine and cross-examine witnesses, and comment on all
evidence, | 731 |
including any affidavits presented to the board under this | 732 |
division. | 733 |
(D) At the hearing, any owner who signed the petition for | 734 |
annexation may appear, and, after being sworn as provided by | 735 |
section 305.21 of the Revised Code, testify orally that
his
the | 736 |
owner's signature was obtained by fraud, duress, | 737 |
misrepresentation,
including any misrepresentation relating to the | 738 |
provision of
municipal services to the territory proposed to be | 739 |
annexed, or
undue influence. Any person may testify orally after | 740 |
being so
sworn in support
of or rebuttal to
such
the prior | 741 |
testimony by the
owner.
The commissioners, the agent for the | 742 |
petitioners or his
attorney, and such owner or his attorney may | 743 |
examine such
witnesses, including the owner
Any witnesses and | 744 |
owners who
testify shall be subject to cross-examination by the | 745 |
necessary parties to the annexation proceedings.
If a majority of | 746 |
the county
commissioners find that
such
the owner's signature was | 747 |
obtained
under
circumstances that did constitute fraud, duress, | 748 |
misrepresentation, or undue influence, they shall find the | 749 |
signature to be void, and shall order it removed from the
petition | 750 |
as of the time the petition was filed. | 751 |
The petition may be amended without further notice by
leave | 752 |
of the county
commissioners with the consent of
the agent for the | 753 |
petitioners where such amendment does not add to the territory | 754 |
embraced in the original petition. If any amendment is permitted, | 755 |
whereby
territory not before embraced is added, the board shall | 756 |
appoint another time
for the hearing, of which notice shall be | 757 |
given as specified in section
709.031 of the Revised Code. | 758 |
Sec. 709.033.
(A) After the hearing
on a petition
to annex | 759 |
for annexation,
the board of county commissioners shall enter
an | 760 |
order
upon its
journal
allowing
a resolution granting the | 761 |
annexation if it
finds,
based upon a preponderance of the | 762 |
substantial, reliable, and probative
evidence on the whole record, | 763 |
that
each of the following conditions has
been met: | 764 |
(A)(1) The petition
contains all matter required in
meets | 765 |
all the requirements set forth in, and was filed in the manner | 766 |
provided in, section
709.02 of the Revised Code. | 767 |
(B) Notice has been published
as required by
section 709.031 | 768 |
of the Revised Code. | 769 |
(C)(2) The persons
whose names are subscribed to
who signed | 770 |
the petition
are owners of real estate located in the territory | 771 |
proposed to be
annexed in the
petition, and, as of the time the | 772 |
petition was filed
with the board of county
commissioners, the | 773 |
number of valid signatures on
the petition constituted a majority | 774 |
of the owners of real estate
in
the
that territory
proposed to be | 775 |
annexed. | 776 |
(D)(3) The municipal corporation to which the territory is | 777 |
proposed to be annexed has complied with division
(B)(D) of | 778 |
section
709.031
709.03 of the Revised Code. | 779 |
(E)(4) The territory
included in the annexation
petition | 780 |
proposed to be annexed is
not unreasonably large; the map or plat | 781 |
is accurate; and. | 782 |
(5) On balance, the
general good of the territory
sought | 783 |
proposed
to be annexed
will be
served,
and the benefits to the | 784 |
territory proposed to be annexed and
the surrounding area will | 785 |
outweigh the detriments to the territory proposed to
be annexed | 786 |
and the surrounding area, if the annexation petition is
granted. | 787 |
As used in division (A)(5) of this section, "surrounding
area" | 788 |
means the territory within the unincorporated area of any township | 789 |
located one-half mile or less from any of the territory proposed | 790 |
to be
annexed. | 791 |
(6) No street or highway will be divided or segmented by the | 792 |
boundary line between a township and the municipal corporation as | 793 |
to create
a road maintenance problem, or, if a street or highway | 794 |
will be so divided or
segmented, the municipal corporation has | 795 |
agreed, as a condition
of the annexation, that it will assume the | 796 |
maintenance of that street or
highway. For the purposes of this | 797 |
division, "street" or "highway" has the
same
meaning as in section | 798 |
4511.01 of the Revised Code. | 799 |
(B) The board of county commissioners shall
grant
enter upon | 800 |
its journal a resolution granting or
deny
denying the
petition for | 801 |
annexation within
ninety
thirty days after the
hearing
set | 802 |
pursuant to
provided for in section
709.031
709.032
of the Revised | 803 |
Code.
The resolution shall include specific findings of fact
as
to | 804 |
whether each of the conditions listed in divisions (A)(1)
to
(6) | 805 |
of this section has been met. Upon journalization of the | 806 |
resolution,
the
clerk of the board shall send a certified copy of | 807 |
it to the agent for the
petitioners, the
clerk of the legislative | 808 |
authority of the municipal corporation to which
annexation is | 809 |
proposed,
the clerk of each township in which the territory | 810 |
proposed for
annexation is located, and the clerk of the board of | 811 |
county commissioners of
each county in which the territory | 812 |
proposed for annexation is located other
than the county in which | 813 |
the petition is filed. The clerk of the board shall
take no | 814 |
further action until the expiration of thirty days after the date | 815 |
of journalization. | 816 |
(C) After the expiration of that thirty-day period, if no | 817 |
appeal
has
been timely
filed under section 709.07 of the Revised | 818 |
Code, the clerk of the board of county
commissioners shall take | 819 |
one of the
following actions: | 820 |
(1) If the board
of county commissioners grants
granted the | 821 |
petition
for annexation
it,
the clerk shall
enter on its
journal | 822 |
all the orders of
the board relating to the annexation and deliver | 823 |
a certified
transcript of
copy of the entire record of the | 824 |
annexation
proceedings, including all
orders
resolutions of the | 825 |
board,
signed by a majority of the members of the board, the | 826 |
petition, map, and all
other papers on file,
the recording of the | 827 |
proceedings, if a copy is
available, and exhibits presented at the | 828 |
hearing relating to the
annexation proceedings, to the auditor or | 829 |
clerk of the municipal corporation to which annexation is | 830 |
proposed. | 831 |
(2) If the board
of county commissioners denies
denied
the | 832 |
petition
for annexation,
it
the clerk shall send a certified copy | 833 |
of its
order
resolution
denying the annexation to the agent for | 834 |
the petitioners and to
the clerk of the municipal corporation to | 835 |
which the annexation
was proposed.
If, on any appeal of any such | 836 |
annexation denial, a
court holds that the board's denial was | 837 |
contrary to law, and if
the court orders the clerk of the board of | 838 |
county commissioners
to enter on the journal of the board an order | 839 |
approving the
annexation, then the clerk shall enter the order. | 840 |
(D)
If an appeal is filed in a timely manner under section | 841 |
709.07
of the Revised Code from the determination of the board of | 842 |
county commissioners granting or
denying the petition for | 843 |
annexation, the clerk of the board shall take further
action only | 844 |
in accordance with that section. | 845 |
Sec. 709.04. At the next regular session of the
legislative | 846 |
authority of the municipal corporation to which
annexation is | 847 |
proposed, after the expiration of sixty
days from the date of | 848 |
filing with him as
the delivery
required by
division
(C) of | 849 |
section
709.022
or division (C)(1) of
section
709.033 of the | 850 |
Revised Code, the auditor or clerk of
such
that municipal | 851 |
corporation shall lay the
transcript
resolution of the board | 852 |
granting the petition and the
accompanying map or plat and | 853 |
petition
required by such section before the legislative | 854 |
authority.
Thereupon the
The legislative authority, by
resolution | 855 |
or
ordinance,
then shall accept or reject the
application
petition | 856 |
for
annexation. If the legislative authority fails to pass an | 857 |
ordinance or
resolution accepting the
application
petition for | 858 |
annexation
within a
period of one hundred twenty days after
the | 859 |
transcript is
those
documents are laid
before it by the auditor or | 860 |
clerk, the
application
petition for
annexation
shall be
deemed | 861 |
considered rejected by the legislative
authority, unless it
has | 862 |
been prevented from acting by a temporary restraining order,
a | 863 |
temporary injunction, or some other order of a court. | 864 |
Sec. 709.07. (A) The agent for the petitioners,
any owner of | 865 |
real estate in the territory proposed for annexation,
any township | 866 |
in
which territory proposed for annexation is located, and the | 867 |
municipal
corporation to which the territory is proposed
to be | 868 |
annexed may file an appeal under Chapter 2506. of the Revised Code | 869 |
from
a resolution of the board of county commissioners granting or | 870 |
denying the
petition. The agent for the petitioners, any township | 871 |
in which the
territory proposed for annexation is located, and any | 872 |
municipal corporation to
which the territory is proposed to be | 873 |
annexed are necessary parties in an
appeal. The filing of a | 874 |
notice of appeal with the clerk of the board of
county | 875 |
commissioners shall operate as a stay of execution upon that clerk | 876 |
and all parties to the appeal, which stay shall not be
lifted | 877 |
until the court having jurisdiction over the proceedings enters a | 878 |
final
order affirming or reversing the decision of the board of | 879 |
county commissioners
and the time limits for an appeal of that | 880 |
final order have passed without a
notice
of appeal being filed. | 881 |
(B) Any party filing an appeal from the court of common | 882 |
pleas or
court of appeals decision in an annexation matter shall | 883 |
serve on the clerk of
the board of county commissioners a | 884 |
time-stamped copy of the notice of appeal.
Upon issuance of a | 885 |
final order of any court regarding an annexation appeal,
the clerk | 886 |
of the court shall forward a certified copy of the court's order | 887 |
to
the clerk of the board of county commissioners that rendered | 888 |
the annexation
decision that was appealed. | 889 |
(C) If, after all appeals have been exhausted, the final | 890 |
determination of the court is that the petition for annexation | 891 |
should be
granted,
the board of county commissioners shall enter | 892 |
on its
journal a resolution granting the annexation, if such a | 893 |
resolution has not already been journalized, and the clerk of the | 894 |
board shall
deliver a certified
copy of that journal entry and of | 895 |
the entire record of the
annexation proceedings, including all | 896 |
resolutions of the board,
signed by a majority of the members of | 897 |
the board, the petition,
map, and all other papers on file, the | 898 |
transcript of the
proceedings, and exhibits presented at the | 899 |
hearing relating to
the annexation proceedings, to the auditor or | 900 |
clerk of the
municipal corporation to which annexation is | 901 |
proposed. The municipal auditor
or clerk shall
lay these | 902 |
certified papers, along with the copy of the court's
order, before | 903 |
the legislative authority at its next regular
meeting. The | 904 |
legislative authority then shall proceed to accept
or reject the | 905 |
petition for annexation as provided under section
709.04 of the | 906 |
Revised
Code. | 907 |
(D) If, after all appeals have been exhausted, the final | 908 |
determination of the court is that the petition for annexation | 909 |
should be
denied,
the board of county commissioners shall enter on | 910 |
its
journal a resolution
denying the annexation, if such
a | 911 |
resolution has not already been journalized. | 912 |
Sec. 709.11. If the territory proposed for annexation under | 913 |
this chapter
is situated in more than one county, the annexation | 914 |
proceedings shall be in
the
county in which the majority of | 915 |
acreage of the territory proposed for
annexation is situated. | 916 |
Sec. 709.13. The inhabitants, generally, of a municipal | 917 |
corporation may
enlarge the limits of
such
the municipal | 918 |
corporation by the
annexation of
contiguous territory in the | 919 |
manner provided by sections 709.14 to
709.21,
inclusive,
709.16 of | 920 |
the Revised Code. | 921 |
Sec. 709.14. The legislative authority of a municipal | 922 |
corporation
which
that
proposes to annex contiguous territory | 923 |
shall
pass, by a vote of not
less than a
majority of the members | 924 |
elected
thereto
to the legislative
authority,
pass an ordinance | 925 |
authorizing the
annexation to be made, and directing the village | 926 |
solicitor or city
director of
law of the municipal corporation, or | 927 |
some one
someone to be named in
the ordinance, to prosecute the | 928 |
proceedings necessary to effect it. | 929 |
Sec. 709.15. The application of a municipal corporation to | 930 |
the board of
county commissioners requesting the annexation of | 931 |
contiguous
territory
under section 709.16 of the Revised Code | 932 |
shall
be by
a petition, setting forth that, under an ordinance
of | 933 |
the legislative
authority of the municipal corporation, the | 934 |
territory described in the
petition
was authorized to be annexed | 935 |
to the municipal corporation. The petition shall
contain an | 936 |
accurate
legal description of the
territory
perimeter and shall be | 937 |
accompanied by an accurate map or plat
thereof
of the territory | 938 |
proposed for annexation. | 939 |
Sec. 709.16. (A) A municipal corporation may
petition the | 940 |
board
of county commissioners to annex contiguous territory owned | 941 |
only
by the municipal corporation, a county, or the state. The | 942 |
clerk of the board
shall cause the petition to be entered upon the | 943 |
board's journal at its next
regular session. This entry shall be | 944 |
the first official act of the board upon
the petition.
Proceedings | 945 |
on the petition shall be conducted under this section
to the | 946 |
exclusion of any other provisions of this chapter except
for | 947 |
sections 709.014, 709.14, 709.15, 709.20, and 709.21 of the | 948 |
Revised
Code. | 949 |
(B) If the only territory to be annexed is contiguous | 950 |
territory
owned by a municipal corporation, the board of county | 951 |
commissioners, by
resolution, shall grant the annexation. The | 952 |
annexation
shall be complete upon the entry
upon the journal of | 953 |
the board of the resolution granting
the annexation. | 954 |
(C) If the only territory to be annexed is contiguous | 955 |
territory
owned by a county, the board of county commissioners, by | 956 |
resolution, may grant
or deny the annexation. The annexation | 957 |
shall be complete upon the entry
upon the journal of the board of | 958 |
a resolution granting
the annexation. | 959 |
(D) If the only territory to be annexed is contiguous | 960 |
territory
owned by the state and the director of administrative | 961 |
services
has filed a written consent to the granting of the | 962 |
annexation with
the board of county commissioners, the board, by | 963 |
resolution, shall
grant the annexation. The annexation shall be | 964 |
complete upon the
entry upon the
journal of the board of a | 965 |
resolution granting the annexation. | 966 |
(E) The board of county commissioners shall act upon a | 967 |
petition
for annexation filed under this section within thirty | 968 |
days after receipt
of the petition. | 969 |
(F) No appeal in law or in equity shall be allowed from the | 970 |
granting of an
annexation under this section. | 971 |
(G) When a municipal corporation purchases real property | 972 |
below
an appraised fair market value and sells or agrees to sell | 973 |
the property back
to the person that sold it to the municipal | 974 |
corporation, an annexation
of that property completed under this | 975 |
section shall be void, and the annexed
property shall become part | 976 |
of the township from which it was
annexed, if it still exists. If | 977 |
the township no longer exists,
the board of county commissioners | 978 |
shall attach the annexed
territory to another township. | 979 |
(H) Territory annexed under this section shall not be | 980 |
excluded from
the township under section 503.07 of the Revised | 981 |
Code. | 982 |
Sec. 709.19. (A) As used in this section: | 983 |
(1)
"Annexation period" means a period of one, two, or
three | 984 |
consecutive twelve-month periods, whichever is less, during
which | 985 |
one or more municipal corporations annex territory of a
township | 986 |
that includes at least fifteen per cent but less than
one hundred | 987 |
per cent of the total taxable value of the real,
public utility, | 988 |
and tangible personal property subject to
taxation in that | 989 |
township in the base year. No annexation period
shall include a | 990 |
month that is part of another annexation period. | 991 |
(2) "Base year" means the calendar year immediately | 992 |
preceding an annexation period. | 993 |
(3) "Taxes" means the
real and public
utility property
taxes | 994 |
charged by a township in the base year or, in an annexation
under | 995 |
division (F) of this section, the real, public
utility, and | 996 |
tangible personal property taxes
that would have been charged by | 997 |
the township, if no annexation had occurred, in the year | 998 |
immediately preceding the year in which the payment is made, and | 999 |
payable after the reduction required by section 319.301 of the | 1000 |
Revised Code but prior to the reduction required by section | 1001 |
319.302 of the Revised Code, and the taxes levied for such year
by | 1002 |
the township against tangible personal property. "Taxes"
excludes | 1003 |
taxes for the payment of debt charges. | 1004 |
|
(4) "Township taxes in the annexed territory" means
the | 1005 |
taxes against the real, public utility, and tangible personal | 1006 |
property subject to taxation in the base year in territory
annexed | 1007 |
from the township to a municipal corporation during an
annexation | 1008 |
period or, in an annexation under division
(F)
of this section, | 1009 |
the
taxes against the real, public
utility, and tangible
personal | 1010 |
property that would have been subject to taxation in the
annexed | 1011 |
territory
in the year immediately preceding
the year in
which the | 1012 |
payment
is to be made, if no annexation had occurred. | 1013 |
(5) "International airport" means any airport that is: | 1014 |
(a) Designated as an international airport or a landing | 1015 |
rights airport by the United States secretary of the treasury; | 1016 |
(b) Owned and operated by a municipal corporation; | 1017 |
(c) An unincorporated area not contiguous to the municipal | 1018 |
corporation that owns it. | 1019 |
(2)
"Commercial," "industrial," "residential," and
"retail," | 1020 |
in relation to
property, mean property classified as such by the | 1021 |
tax
commissioner for the purposes of valuing property for | 1022 |
taxation,
except that "commercial," in relation to property, does | 1023 |
not include any
property
classified as "retail." | 1024 |
(B) If
the annexation of territory of any township by one
or | 1025 |
more municipal corporations under this chapter constitutes an | 1026 |
annexation period of twelve consecutive months, except as
provided | 1027 |
in division (G) of this section, each municipal
corporation that | 1028 |
annexed territory of that township during that
annexation period | 1029 |
shall pay the township during each of the seven
years following | 1030 |
the annexation period: | 1031 |
(1) In each of the first three years, one hundred per cent | 1032 |
of the township taxes in the annexed territory; | 1033 |
(2) In the fourth year, eighty per cent of the township | 1034 |
taxes in the annexed territory; | 1035 |
(3) In the fifth year, sixty per cent of the township
taxes | 1036 |
in the annexed territory; | 1037 |
(4) In the sixth year, forty per cent of the township
taxes | 1038 |
in the annexed territory; | 1039 |
(5) In the seventh year, twenty per cent of the township | 1040 |
taxes in the annexed territory. | 1041 |
(C) If the annexation of territory of any township by one
or | 1042 |
more municipal corporations under this chapter constitutes an | 1043 |
annexation period of thirteen to twenty-four consecutive months, | 1044 |
except as provided in division (G) of this section, each
municipal | 1045 |
corporation that annexed territory of that township
during that | 1046 |
annexation period shall pay the township during each
of the six | 1047 |
years following the annexation period: | 1048 |
(1) In each of the first two years, one hundred per cent
of | 1049 |
the township taxes in the annexed territory; | 1050 |
(2) In the third year, eighty per cent of the township
taxes | 1051 |
in the annexed territory; | 1052 |
(3) In the fourth year, sixty per cent of the township
taxes | 1053 |
in the annexed territory; | 1054 |
(4) In the fifty year, forty per cent of the
township taxes | 1055 |
in the annexed territory; | 1056 |
(5) In the sixth year, twenty per cent of the township
taxes | 1057 |
in the annexed territory. | 1058 |
(D) If the annexation of territory of any township by one
or | 1059 |
more municipal corporations under this chapter constitutes an | 1060 |
annexation period of twenty-five to thirty-six consecutive
months, | 1061 |
except as provided in division (G) of this section, each
municipal | 1062 |
corporation that annexed territory of that township
during that | 1063 |
annexation period shall pay the township during each
of the five | 1064 |
years following the annexation period: | 1065 |
(1) In the first year, one hundred per cent of the
township | 1066 |
taxes in the annexed territory; | 1067 |
(2) In the second year, eighty per cent of the township | 1068 |
taxes in the annexed territory; | 1069 |
(3) In the third year, sixty per cent of the township
taxes | 1070 |
in the annexed territory; | 1071 |
(4) In the fourth year, forty per cent of the township
taxes | 1072 |
in the annexed territory; | 1073 |
(5) In the fifth year, twenty per cent of the township
taxes | 1074 |
in the annexed territory
unincorporated territory is annexed to a | 1075 |
municipal
corporation and excluded from a township under section | 1076 |
503.07 of the
Revised Code, upon exclusion of that territory, the | 1077 |
municipal corporation that annexed the territory shall make | 1078 |
payments to the township from which the territory was annexed only | 1079 |
as provided in this section, except that, if the legislative | 1080 |
authority of the municipal corporation enters into an agreement | 1081 |
under section 701.07, 709.191, or 709.192 of the Revised
Code with | 1082 |
the
township from which the territory was annexed that makes | 1083 |
alternate provisions
regarding payments by the municipal | 1084 |
corporation, then
the payment provisions in that agreement shall | 1085 |
apply in lieu of the
provisions of this section. | 1086 |
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this | 1087 |
section,
the municipal corporation that annexed the territory | 1088 |
shall make the following
payments to the
township from which the | 1089 |
territory was annexed with respect to
commercial and industrial | 1090 |
real, personal, and public utility
property taxes using the | 1091 |
property valuation for the year that the
payment is due: | 1092 |
(a) In the first through third years following the | 1093 |
annexation
and exclusion of the territory from the township, | 1094 |
eighty per cent of the
township taxes in the
annexed territory | 1095 |
that would have been due the township for
commercial and | 1096 |
industrial real, personal, and public utility
property taxes if no | 1097 |
annexation had occurred; | 1098 |
(b) In the fourth and fifth years following the annexation | 1099 |
and the exclusion of the territory from the township, sixty-seven | 1100 |
and one-half per
cent of
the township taxes in the
annexed | 1101 |
territory that would
have been due the
township for commercial and | 1102 |
industrial real,
personal, and public
utility property taxes if no | 1103 |
annexation had
occurred; | 1104 |
(c) In the sixth and seventh years following the annexation | 1105 |
and exclusion of the territory from the township, sixty-two and | 1106 |
one-half per
cent of the township taxes in the annexed territory | 1107 |
that would have been due
the township
for commercial and | 1108 |
industrial real, personal,
and public utility property taxes if no | 1109 |
annexation had occurred; | 1110 |
(d) In the eighth and ninth years following the
annexation | 1111 |
and
exclusion of the territory from the township, fifty-seven and | 1112 |
one-half per cent of the township taxes
in the annexed territory | 1113 |
that would have been due the township for commercial
and | 1114 |
industrial real,
personal, and public utility property taxes if no | 1115 |
annexation had
occurred; | 1116 |
(e) In the tenth through twelfth years following the | 1117 |
annexation
and exclusion of the territory from the township, | 1118 |
forty-two and one-half per
cent of the township
taxes in the | 1119 |
annexed territory that would have been due the
township for | 1120 |
commercial and industrial real, personal, and public
utility | 1121 |
property taxes if no annexation had occurred. | 1122 |
(2) If there has been an exemption by the municipal | 1123 |
corporation
of commercial and industrial real, personal, or public | 1124 |
utility property
taxes pursuant to section 725.02, 1728.10, | 1125 |
3735.67, 5709.40, 5709.41,
5709.62, or 5709.88 of the Revised | 1126 |
Code, there shall be no
reduction in the payments owed to the | 1127 |
township due to that exemption. The
municipal corporation shall | 1128 |
make payments to the township under division
(C)(1)
of this | 1129 |
section, calculated as if the exemption had not occurred. | 1130 |
(D) The municipal corporation that annexed the territory | 1131 |
shall
make the following payments
to the township from which the | 1132 |
territory was annexed with respect to
residential and retail real | 1133 |
property taxes using the property
valuation for the year that the | 1134 |
payment is due: | 1135 |
(1) In the first through third years following the | 1136 |
annexation
and exclusion of the territory from the township, | 1137 |
eighty per cent of
the township taxes in the annexed
territory | 1138 |
that would have been due the
township for residential
and retail | 1139 |
real property taxes if no
annexation had occurred; | 1140 |
(2) In the fourth and fifth years following the
annexation | 1141 |
and exclusion of the territory from the township,
fifty-two and | 1142 |
one-half per
cent of the
township taxes in the
annexed territory | 1143 |
that would have been due the
township for
residential and retail | 1144 |
real property taxes if no
annexation had
occurred; | 1145 |
(3) In the sixth through tenth years following the | 1146 |
annexation and exclusion of the territory from the township, forty | 1147 |
per
cent of the township taxes in the annexed territory that would | 1148 |
have been
due the township for residential and retail real | 1149 |
property taxes if
no annexation had occurred; | 1150 |
(4) In the eleventh and twelfth years following the | 1151 |
annexation and exclusion of the territory from the township, | 1152 |
twenty-seven
and one-half per cent of the township taxes in the | 1153 |
annexed territory that
would have been due the township for | 1154 |
residential and retail real
property taxes if no annexation had | 1155 |
occurred. | 1156 |
(E) If, pursuant to division (F) of
this section, a | 1157 |
municipal corporation annexes an international airport that it | 1158 |
owns, the municipal corporation shall pay the township one
hundred | 1159 |
per cent of the township taxes in the annexed territory
that would | 1160 |
have been due the township, if no annexation had
occurred, for | 1161 |
each of the twenty-five years following the
annexation. | 1162 |
(F)(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
chapter, | 1163 |
a board of county commissioners may authorize a
municipal | 1164 |
corporation to annex an international airport that the
municipal | 1165 |
corporation owns. Unless a contract is entered into
pursuant to | 1166 |
division (F)(2) of this section, any municipal
corporation that | 1167 |
annexes an international airport under this
division shall make | 1168 |
payments to the township from which the
international airport is | 1169 |
annexed, in the manner provided in
division (E) of this section. | 1170 |
No territory annexed
pursuant to
this division shall be considered | 1171 |
part of the municipal
corporation for the purposes of subsequent | 1172 |
annexation, except
that the board of county commissioners may | 1173 |
authorize subsequent
annexation under this division if the board | 1174 |
determines that
such
subsequent annexation is necessary to the | 1175 |
continued
operation of the international airport. | 1176 |
(2) The chief executive of a municipal corporation that | 1177 |
annexes territory pursuant to this division may enter into a | 1178 |
contract with the board of township trustees of the township that | 1179 |
loses the territory whereby the township agrees to provide the | 1180 |
annexed territory with police, fire, or other services it is | 1181 |
authorized to provide in exchange for specified consideration as | 1182 |
agreed upon by the board of township trustees and the chief | 1183 |
executive. In no instance shall the consideration received by
the | 1184 |
township be less than the payments that would be required
under | 1185 |
division (F)(1) of this section if no contract were
entered
into. | 1186 |
(G) If after an annexation period for which
payments are | 1187 |
being made or are to be made to a township by one or more | 1188 |
municipal corporations under division (B), (C), or (D) of this | 1189 |
section, the remainder of the unincorporated territory of the | 1190 |
township is annexed to another municipal corporation or | 1191 |
incorporates as a municipal corporation, the balance of the | 1192 |
payments due the township under division (B), (C), or (D) of this | 1193 |
section shall be made to the municipal corporation to which the | 1194 |
remainder of the township territory was annexed or to the | 1195 |
municipal corporation incorporated from the remainder of the | 1196 |
township territory. | 1197 |
No payment shall be made to a municipal corporation
pursuant | 1198 |
to this division unless the remainder of the
unincorporated | 1199 |
territory of the township referred to in this
division constitutes | 1200 |
at least fifty per cent of the area of the
unincorporated area of | 1201 |
the township prior to the annexation
period. | 1202 |
(H) After consultation with the chief executive officer of | 1203 |
the municipal corporation and the board of township trustees, the | 1204 |
county auditor shall determine by which of the following methods | 1205 |
the municipal corporations that annexed township territory shall | 1206 |
pay the township the amounts prescribed in divisions (B) to
(F) of | 1207 |
this section, except that if the payments are made
pursuant to | 1208 |
division (G) of this section, they shall be made by the
first | 1209 |
method listed below: | 1210 |
(1) The county auditor shall issue a warrant semiannually | 1211 |
against the taxes charged and payable against real and public | 1212 |
utility property located in the municipal corporation and the | 1213 |
taxes levied against tangible personal property located in the | 1214 |
municipal corporation, and the county treasurer shall distribute | 1215 |
such amount to the township or, pursuant to division
(G) of
this | 1216 |
section, to the municipal corporation to which the remainder of | 1217 |
the township territory was annexed or to the municipal
corporation | 1218 |
incorporated from the remainder of the township
territory; or | 1219 |
(2) The county budget commission shall pay such amounts to | 1220 |
the township from the amount apportioned to the municipal | 1221 |
corporations from the undivided local government fund. The | 1222 |
payment shall be over and above the amount apportioned to the | 1223 |
township pursuant to section 5747.51 or 5747.53 of the Revised | 1224 |
Code, and the apportionment of the municipal corporations shall
be | 1225 |
reduced by like amounts. | 1226 |
(I) Upon written notification to the county auditor and
the | 1227 |
chief executive officer of each municipal corporation that
annexes | 1228 |
township territory during an annexation period, a board
of | 1229 |
township trustees may decline to accept the payments required | 1230 |
under divisions (B), (C), (D), and
(F) of this section, and a | 1231 |
municipal corporation may decline to accept the payments required | 1232 |
under division (G) of this section. | 1233 |
A municipal corporation need not make any payment required
by | 1234 |
this section if its legislative authority enters into an
agreement | 1235 |
under section 709.191 of the Revised Code. | 1236 |
Sec. 709.192. (A) The legislative authority of one
municipal | 1237 |
corporation, by ordinance or resolution,
and the board of township | 1238 |
trustees of one or more townships, by resolution, may enter into | 1239 |
annexation agreements under this section. | 1240 |
(B) An annexation agreement
may be entered into for any | 1241 |
period of time and may be amended at any time in
the
same manner | 1242 |
as it was initially authorized. | 1243 |
(C) Annexation agreements may provide for any
of the | 1244 |
following: | 1245 |
(1) The territory to be annexed; | 1246 |
(2) Any periods of time during which no annexations will be | 1247 |
made and any
areas that will not be annexed; | 1248 |
(3) Land use planning matters; | 1249 |
(4) The provision of joint services and permanent | 1250 |
improvements within
incorporated or unincorporated areas; | 1251 |
(5) The provision of services and improvements by a | 1252 |
municipal corporation
in the unincorporated areas; | 1253 |
(6) The provision of services and improvements by a township | 1254 |
within the
territory of a municipal corporation; | 1255 |
(7) The payment of service fees to a municipal corporation | 1256 |
by a
township; | 1257 |
(8) The payment of service fees to a township by a municipal | 1258 |
corporation; | 1259 |
(9) The reallocation of the minimum mandated levies | 1260 |
established
pursuant to section 5705.31 of the Revised Code | 1261 |
between a
municipal corporation and a township in areas annexed | 1262 |
after the
effective date of this section; | 1263 |
(10) The issuance of notes and bonds and other debt | 1264 |
obligations by a
municipal corporation or township for public | 1265 |
purposes authorized by
or under an annexation agreement and | 1266 |
provision for the
allocation of the payment of the
principal of, | 1267 |
interest on, and other charges and costs of issuing and
servicing | 1268 |
the repayment of the debt; | 1269 |
(11) Agreements by a municipal corporation and township, | 1270 |
with
owners or
developers of land to be annexed, or with both | 1271 |
those landowners and
land developers, concerning the provision of | 1272 |
public services, facilities, and
permanent improvements; | 1273 |
(12) The application of tax
abatement
statutes within the | 1274 |
territory
covered by the annexation agreement subsequent to its | 1275 |
execution; | 1276 |
(13) Changing township boundaries under Chapter 503. of the | 1277 |
Revised Code to
exclude newly annexed territory from the original | 1278 |
township and providing
services to that territory; | 1279 |
(14) Payments in lieu of taxes, if any, to be paid to a | 1280 |
township by a
municipal corporation, which payments may be in | 1281 |
addition to or in lieu of
other payments required by law to be | 1282 |
made to the township by that municipal
corporation; | 1283 |
(15) Any other matter pertaining to the annexation or | 1284 |
development of
publicly or privately owned territory. | 1285 |
(D) Annexation agreements shall not be in
derogation of the | 1286 |
powers granted to municipal corporations by Article
XVIII, Ohio | 1287 |
Constitution, by
any other provisions of the
Ohio Constitution, or | 1288 |
by the provisions of a municipal
charter, nor shall municipal | 1289 |
corporations and townships agree to share
proceeds
of any tax | 1290 |
levy, although those proceeds may be used to make payments | 1291 |
authorized in an annexation agreement. | 1292 |
(E) If any party to an annexation agreement
believes another | 1293 |
party has failed to perform its part of any provision of that | 1294 |
agreement,
including the failure to make any payment of moneys due | 1295 |
under the agreement,
that party shall give notice to the other | 1296 |
party clearly stating what breach
has occurred. The party | 1297 |
receiving the notice has ninety days from the receipt
of that | 1298 |
notice to cure the breach. If the breach has not been cured | 1299 |
within
that ninety-day period, the party that sent the notice may | 1300 |
sue for recovery of
the money due under the agreement, sue for | 1301 |
specific enforcement of the
agreement, or terminate the agreement | 1302 |
upon giving notice of termination to all
the other parties. | 1303 |
(F) In order to
promote economic development or to provide | 1304 |
appropriate state
functions and services to any part of the state, | 1305 |
the state may
become a party to an annexation agreement
upon the | 1306 |
approval of the director of development and with the written | 1307 |
consent
of the
legislative authority of the municipal corporation | 1308 |
and each of the boards of
township trustees that are parties
to | 1309 |
the agreement. | 1310 |
(G) The board of county commissioners, by resolution, or any | 1311 |
person, upon request, may become a party to an annexation | 1312 |
agreement, but only
upon
the approval of the legislative authority | 1313 |
of
the municipal corporation and each of the boards of township | 1314 |
trustees that
are parties
to the agreement, except
that, if the | 1315 |
state is a party to the agreement, the director of development is | 1316 |
responsible for giving the approval. | 1317 |
(H) The powers granted by
this section and any
annexation | 1318 |
agreement entered into under
this section shall be liberally | 1319 |
construed to allow parties to
these agreements to carry out the | 1320 |
agreements' provisions relevant to
government improvements, | 1321 |
facilities, and services, and to
promote and support economic | 1322 |
development and the creation and
preservation of economic | 1323 |
opportunities. | 1324 |
Sec. 709.21. No error, irregularity, or defect in the | 1325 |
proceedings under
sections 709.01 to 709.20, inclusive, of the | 1326 |
Revised Code, shall
render them invalid, if
once annexation has | 1327 |
become final and the
annexed territory has been recognized as a | 1328 |
part of the annexing municipal
corporation,
and taxes levied upon | 1329 |
it as such have been paid, and it
has been subjected to the | 1330 |
authority of the legislative authority of
such
the annexing | 1331 |
municipal corporation, without objection from the inhabitants of | 1332 |
such
territory. | 1333 |
Sec. 929.02. (A) Any person who owns agricultural land
may | 1334 |
file an application with the county auditor to place the land
in | 1335 |
an agricultural district for five years if, during the three | 1336 |
calendar years prior to the year in which that person files the | 1337 |
application, the land has been devoted exclusively to
agricultural | 1338 |
production or devoted to and qualified for payments
or other | 1339 |
compensation under a land retirement or conservation
program under | 1340 |
an agreement with an agency of the federal
government and if: | 1341 |
(1) The land is composed of tracts, lots, or parcels that | 1342 |
total not less than ten acres; or | 1343 |
(2) The activities conducted on the land produced an
average | 1344 |
yearly gross income of at least twenty-five hundred
dollars during | 1345 |
that three-year period or the owner has evidence
of an anticipated | 1346 |
gross income of that amount from those
activities. The owner | 1347 |
shall submit with the application
proof that the owner's land | 1348 |
meets the requirements
established under this
division. If the | 1349 |
county auditor determines that the application
does not meet the | 1350 |
requirements of this section, the county
auditor shall deny the | 1351 |
application and notify the applicant by certified
mail, return | 1352 |
receipt requested, within thirty days of the filing of the | 1353 |
application. The applicant may appeal the denial of the | 1354 |
application to the
court of common pleas of the county in which | 1355 |
the application was filed within thirty days of the receipt of
the | 1356 |
notice. If the county auditor determines that the
application | 1357 |
meets the requirements of this section, the county
auditor shall | 1358 |
approve the application and notify the applicant within
thirty | 1359 |
days of the filing of the application. An application that is
not | 1360 |
denied shall be deemed to be approved. The county auditor
shall | 1361 |
provide an applicant with a copy of an approved application
within | 1362 |
thirty days of the filing of the application. An
application that | 1363 |
is approved is effective upon the date of the
filing of the | 1364 |
application. | 1365 |
The county auditor shall keep a record of all land in the | 1366 |
county that is within an agricultural district, including a copy | 1367 |
of the final action taken by a legislative body regarding | 1368 |
applications modified by a legislative body pursuant to division | 1369 |
(B) of this section. | 1370 |
(B) If the land of a person who files an application under | 1371 |
division (A) of this section is within a municipal corporation or | 1372 |
if an annexation petition that includes the land has been filed | 1373 |
with the board of county commissioners under section
709.03
709.02 | 1374 |
of
the Revised Code at the time of the filing, the owner also | 1375 |
shall file a copy of the application for inclusion in an | 1376 |
agricultural
district with the clerk of the legislative body of | 1377 |
the municipal
corporation. No later than thirty days after the | 1378 |
filing of an
application, or, in the case of an annexation | 1379 |
petition filed
pursuant to section
709.03
709.02 of the Revised | 1380 |
Code, no
later than
thirty days after the petition has been | 1381 |
granted, the legislative
body shall conduct a public hearing on | 1382 |
the application. The
clerk of the legislative body shall cause a | 1383 |
notice containing the
substance of the application and the time | 1384 |
and place where it will
be heard to be published in a newspaper of | 1385 |
general circulation in
the county in which the application or | 1386 |
annexation petition is
filed no later than seven days prior to the | 1387 |
time fixed for the
hearing. The clerk of the legislative body | 1388 |
also shall notify the
applicant of the time and place of the | 1389 |
hearing by certified mail
sent no later than ten days prior to the | 1390 |
hearing. Any interested
person or representative of an interested | 1391 |
person may appear
in support of or to
contest the granting of the | 1392 |
application. Affidavits presented in
support of or against the | 1393 |
application shall be considered by the
legislative body. Within | 1394 |
thirty days of the hearing, the
legislative body may approve the | 1395 |
application, modify the
application and approve the application | 1396 |
as modified, or reject
the application. An application that is | 1397 |
not modified or rejected
by a majority vote of the members of the | 1398 |
legislative body shall
be deemed to be approved. Prior to | 1399 |
rejecting an application, the
legislative body shall make every | 1400 |
effort to modify the
application. Modifications may include the | 1401 |
length of time during
which land is considered to be within an | 1402 |
agricultural district,
size of the agricultural district
as well | 1403 |
as,
and any
provisions of
sections 929.03 to 929.05 of the Revised | 1404 |
Code. If the applicant
disapproves of the modifications made by | 1405 |
the legislative body, the applicant
may withdraw the application | 1406 |
to place the land in an agricultural
district. In rejecting or | 1407 |
modifying an application to place land
in an agricultural | 1408 |
district, the legislative body shall
demonstrate that the | 1409 |
rejection or modification is necessary to
prevent a substantial, | 1410 |
adverse effect on the provision of
municipal services within the | 1411 |
municipal corporation, efficient
use of land within the municipal | 1412 |
corporation, the orderly growth
and development of the municipal | 1413 |
corporation, or the public
health, safety, or welfare. | 1414 |
If an annexation petition is denied under section
709.03 | 1415 |
709.033 of
the Revised Code,
or if a legislative body fails to | 1416 |
conduct a
hearing in the time prescribed by this section, or if an | 1417 |
application is approved, the application shall be deemed to have | 1418 |
been approved and shall become effective as of the date the | 1419 |
application was filed. An application approved with
modifications | 1420 |
shall become effective as of the date the
application was filed | 1421 |
unless the modification provides otherwise. | 1422 |
The clerk of the legislative body shall notify the
applicant | 1423 |
by certified mail, return receipt requested, sent
within five days | 1424 |
of the decision to approve, modify, or reject an
application for | 1425 |
inclusion of land in an agricultural district.
The clerk of the | 1426 |
legislative body shall also transmit a copy of
the decision to | 1427 |
approve, modify, or reject an application to the
county auditor. | 1428 |
An applicant may appeal a decision to modify or
reject an | 1429 |
application to the court of common pleas of the county
in which | 1430 |
the application was filed within thirty days of the
receipt of the | 1431 |
notice of modification or rejection. | 1432 |
(C) At any time after the first Monday in January and
prior | 1433 |
to the first Monday in March of the year during which an | 1434 |
agricultural district terminates, the owner of land in the | 1435 |
agricultural district may file a renewal application to continue | 1436 |
the inclusion of all or part of the owner's land in an | 1437 |
agricultural
district for a period of time ending on the first | 1438 |
Monday in April
of the fifth year following the renewal | 1439 |
application. The
requirements for continued inclusion in the | 1440 |
agricultural district
and the renewal application procedure shall | 1441 |
be the same as those
required for the original application for | 1442 |
placing land in an
agricultural district. The county auditor | 1443 |
shall notify owners of
land in agricultural districts eligible to | 1444 |
file a renewal
application for continued inclusion in an | 1445 |
agricultural district
on or prior to the first Monday in February | 1446 |
or the date upon
which the county auditor notifies owners of land | 1447 |
valued at
agricultural use value for real property tax purposes of | 1448 |
the
necessity of filing a renewal application to continue valuing | 1449 |
the
land at agricultural use value. On or before the second | 1450 |
Tuesday
after the first Monday in March, the county auditor shall | 1451 |
determine whether the owner of any land in an agricultural | 1452 |
district eligible to file a renewal application failed to file a | 1453 |
renewal application with respect to
such
that land and shall | 1454 |
forthwith
notify each
such owner
of the land by certified mail | 1455 |
that unless
a renewal
application is filed prior to the first | 1456 |
Monday in April, the land
will be removed from the agricultural | 1457 |
district upon its
termination date. An approved renewal | 1458 |
application is effective
on the termination date of the preceding | 1459 |
agricultural district.
Failure of an owner to file a renewal | 1460 |
application prior to the
first Monday in April of the year during | 1461 |
which the owner's agricultural
district terminates shall not | 1462 |
prevent the owner from filing an application to
include the | 1463 |
owner's land in an agricultural district. | 1464 |
Land that is transferred to a new owner during the period
in | 1465 |
which the land is an agricultural district shall continue in
the | 1466 |
agricultural district under the terms of the existing
district | 1467 |
unless the new owner elects to discontinue inclusion in
the | 1468 |
agricultural district and files the election with the county | 1469 |
auditor within sixty days after the transfer. Failure of the new | 1470 |
owner to continue inclusion in the agricultural district for the | 1471 |
duration of the period in which the land is in the agricultural | 1472 |
district is withdrawal from an agricultural district subject to | 1473 |
penalty. | 1474 |
(D) If, at any time during which land is in an
agricultural | 1475 |
district, the owner withdraws the land from the
district, the | 1476 |
owner shall notify the county auditor of the
withdrawal and shall | 1477 |
pay to the county auditor a withdrawal penalty calculated
as | 1478 |
follows: | 1479 |
(1) If the owner's action also disqualifies the owner's | 1480 |
land for any tax savings that it had been receiving under sections | 1481 |
5713.30
to 5713.38 of the Revised Code, the owner shall pay a | 1482 |
percentage of the
amount charged under
section 5713.34 of the | 1483 |
Revised Code that is equal to the average bank prime
rate at the | 1484 |
time the amount charged under that section is required to be
paid. | 1485 |
The withdrawal penalty shall be in addition to the
amount charged | 1486 |
under that section. | 1487 |
(2) If the land had not been receiving any tax savings
under | 1488 |
those sections, or if the owner's action does not
disqualify the | 1489 |
land for tax savings under them, the owner shall
pay a percentage | 1490 |
of the
amount that would have been charged under section 5713.34 | 1491 |
of the
Revised Code if the owner's land had been receiving tax | 1492 |
savings and became
disqualified for them in an amount that is | 1493 |
equal to the average bank prime
rate at the time the amount that | 1494 |
would have been charged under that section
would have been | 1495 |
required to be paid. | 1496 |
For the purposes of divisions (D)(1) and
(2) of this section, | 1497 |
the county auditor shall determine the average bank prime
rate | 1498 |
using statistical release H.15, "selected interest rates," a | 1499 |
weekly publication of the federal reserve board, or any successor | 1500 |
publication.
If the statistical release H.15, or its successor, | 1501 |
ceases to contain the bank
prime rate information or ceases to be | 1502 |
published, the county auditor shall
request a written statement of | 1503 |
the average bank prime rate from the federal
reserve bank of | 1504 |
Cleveland or the federal reserve board. | 1505 |
The county auditor shall calculate the amount of the | 1506 |
withdrawal penalty that
is due and shall notify the owner of it. | 1507 |
The auditor also shall note the
withdrawal in the auditor's | 1508 |
records. | 1509 |
The county auditor shall distribute the moneys collected | 1510 |
under
division (D) of
this section in the manner provided in | 1511 |
section
5713.35 of the Revised Code for moneys that the county | 1512 |
auditor collects under that section. | 1513 |
(E) Land that is included in an agricultural district
under | 1514 |
this section and that is subsequently annexed by a
municipal | 1515 |
corporation shall not be subject to division (B) of
this section | 1516 |
either at the time of annexation or at the time of
any subsequent | 1517 |
application or renewal application for inclusion
in the district | 1518 |
if, at the time of annexation, its owner did not
sign a petition | 1519 |
favoring annexation under section 709.02 of the
Revised Code
or | 1520 |
vote for annexation in an election held in
accordance with section | 1521 |
709.17 of the Revised Code. If its owner
did sign a petition | 1522 |
favoring annexation
or vote for annexation,
as provided in
those | 1523 |
sections
that section, or if the owner who
opposed
annexation has | 1524 |
sold or transferred the land to another person who
is keeping the | 1525 |
land in the agricultural district, the land shall
be subject to | 1526 |
division (B) of this section at the time of any
subsequent | 1527 |
application or renewal application for inclusion in
the district. | 1528 |
(F) The director of agriculture shall prescribe the | 1529 |
application and renewal forms required under this section and | 1530 |
shall furnish them to county auditors. In prescribing the forms, | 1531 |
the director shall consult with the tax commissioner to determine | 1532 |
if a single
form can be developed for the purposes of this section | 1533 |
and section 5713.31 of
the Revised Code. | 1534 |
Sec. 5705.31. The county auditor shall present to the
county | 1535 |
budget commission the annual tax budgets submitted
to him
under | 1536 |
sections 5705.01 to 5705.47 of the Revised Code, together
with an | 1537 |
estimate prepared by
such
the auditor of the amount of
any
state | 1538 |
levy, the rate of any school tax levy as previously
determined, | 1539 |
the tax commissioner's estimate of the amount to be
received in | 1540 |
the county library and local government support fund,
and such | 1541 |
other information as the commission requests or the tax | 1542 |
commissioner prescribes. The budget commission shall examine
such | 1543 |
budget and ascertain the total amount proposed to be raised
in the | 1544 |
county for the purposes of each subdivision and other
taxing units | 1545 |
therein
in the county. | 1546 |
The commission shall ascertain that the following levies
have | 1547 |
been properly authorized and, if so authorized, shall
approve them | 1548 |
without modification: | 1549 |
(A) All levies in excess of the ten-mill limitation; | 1550 |
(B) All levies for debt charges not provided for by levies | 1551 |
in excess of the ten-mill limitation, including levies necessary | 1552 |
to pay notes issued for emergency purposes; | 1553 |
(C) The levies prescribed by division (B) of sections
742.33 | 1554 |
and 742.34 of the Revised Code; | 1555 |
(D)
A
Except as otherwise provided in this division, a | 1556 |
minimum
levy within the ten-mill limitation for the
current | 1557 |
expense and debt service of each subdivision or taxing
unit, which | 1558 |
shall equal two-thirds of the average levy for
current expenses | 1559 |
and debt service allotted within the
fifteen-mill limitation to | 1560 |
such subdivision or taxing unit during
the last five years the | 1561 |
fifteen-mill limitation was in effect
unless such subdivision or | 1562 |
taxing unit requests an amount
requiring a lower rate. Except as | 1563 |
provided in section 5705.312
of the Revised Code, if the levies | 1564 |
required in divisions (B) and
(C) of this section for the | 1565 |
subdivision or taxing unit equal or
exceed the entire minimum levy | 1566 |
of the subdivision as fixed, the
minimum levies of the other | 1567 |
subdivisions or taxing units shall be
reduced by the commission to | 1568 |
provide for the levies and an
operating levy for the subdivision. | 1569 |
Such additional levy shall
be deducted from the minimum levies of | 1570 |
each of the other
subdivisions or taxing units, but the operating | 1571 |
levy for a school
district shall not be reduced below a figure | 1572 |
equivalent to
forty-five per cent of the millage available within | 1573 |
the ten-mill
limitation after all the levies in divisions (B) and | 1574 |
(C) of this
section have been provided for. | 1575 |
If a municipal corporation and a township have entered into | 1576 |
an
annexation agreement under section 709.192 of the Revised
Code | 1577 |
in
which they agree to reallocate their shares of the minimum | 1578 |
levies established
under this division and if that annexation | 1579 |
agreement is submitted along with
the
annual tax budget of both | 1580 |
the township and the municipal
corporation, then, when determining | 1581 |
the minimum levy under this
division, the auditor shall allocate, | 1582 |
to the extent possible, the
minimum levy for that municipal | 1583 |
corporation and township in
accordance with their annexation | 1584 |
agreement. | 1585 |
(E) The levies prescribed by section 3709.29 of the
Revised | 1586 |
Code. | 1587 |
Divisions (A) to (E) of this section are mandatory and | 1588 |
commissions shall be without discretion to reduce such minimum | 1589 |
levies except as provided in such divisions. | 1590 |
If any debt charge is omitted from the budget, the
commission | 1591 |
shall include it therein. | 1592 |
Sec. 5705.315. With respect to annexations granted on or | 1593 |
after
the effective date of this section and during any tax year | 1594 |
or years within
which any territory annexed to a municipal | 1595 |
corporation is part of a
township, the minimum levy for the | 1596 |
municipal corporation and
township under section 5705.31 of the | 1597 |
Revised Code shall not
be
diminished, except that in the annexed | 1598 |
territory and only during those tax
year
or years, and in order to | 1599 |
preserve the minimum levies of overlapping
subdivisions under | 1600 |
section 5705.31 of the Revised Code so that the full amount of | 1601 |
taxes within the ten-mill limitation may be levied to the extent | 1602 |
possible, the minimum levy of the municipal corporation or | 1603 |
township shall be the lowest of the following amounts: | 1604 |
(A) An amount that when added to the minimum levies of
the | 1605 |
other
overlapping subdivisions equals ten mills; | 1606 |
(B) An amount equal to the minimum levy of the municipal | 1607 |
corporation or township, provided the total minimum levy does not | 1608 |
exceed
ten mills. | 1609 |
The municipal corporation and the township may enter into an | 1610 |
agreement to determine the municipal corporation's and the | 1611 |
township's
minimum levy under this section. If it cannot be | 1612 |
determined what minimum levy is available to each and no agreement | 1613 |
has been entered into by the municipal corporation and township, | 1614 |
the municipal corporation and township shall each receive one-half | 1615 |
of the millage available for use within the portion of the | 1616 |
territory annexed to the municipal corporation that remains
part | 1617 |
of the township. | 1618 |
Section 2. That existing sections 505.62, 709.02, 709.03, | 1619 |
709.032, 709.033, 709.04, 709.13, 709.14, 709.15, 709.19, 709.21, | 1620 |
929.02, and
5705.31
and sections 709.031, 709.07, 709.08, 709.09, | 1621 |
709.11, 709.16, 709.17, and 709.18 of the
Revised Code are hereby | 1622 |
repealed. | 1623 |
|
Section 3. The provisions of Section 1 of this act shall | 1624 |
apply only to
annexation petitions filed on or after the effective | 1625 |
date of this act.
All annexation petitions filed before the | 1626 |
effective date of this act shall
be processed under the provisions | 1627 |
of Chapter 709. of the Revised Code in
effect at the time a | 1628 |
particular petition was filed. | 1629 |
|