Water agreement reached, court fight avoided
Cindy Leise | The Chronicle-Telegram
When the economy snaps back, the city of Oberlin, Pittsfield Township and the Rural Lorain County Water Authority are ready to benefit from expected development around the Wal-Mart at state Route 58 and U.S. Route 20.
The city and rural water authority avoided a potentially costly court fight when they agreed to divvy up service areas, according to Oberlin Council President David Sonner and representatives of the water authority.
Oberlin will retain areas on the east and west sides of Route 58, north of Route 20. It also will serve the Lorain County Joint Vocational School, land near the Oberlin Reservoir and an expansion at Kendal at Oberlin.
The water authority will serve broad swaths north and south of state Route 20 that ultimately could become prime residential developments, said Tim Mahoney, the water authority’s general manager.
“It was a good mutual agreement,” Mahoney said. “Everybody benefits — except the attorneys.”
Oberlin City Manager Eric Norenberg said the city fought for — and retained — areas where it already had invested considerable money for waterlines.
“We’ve accomplished something we can all be proud of and sets us up for future development,” Norenberg said.
The water authority won its last court fight with the village of Grafton about water service to the Fox Run housing development west of state Route 57. This time around, the agreement avoided a court battle, Mahoney said.
Norenberg said the issue arose over the winter when Kendal at Oberlin was contemplating an expansion that involved annexation of land in New Russia Township. The area was annexed to Oberlin but remained in the water authority’s service area.
It only made sense to Oberlin to serve Kendal at Oberlin — which it already was serving — but the area was in territory granted to the water authority in the 1973 court ruling by then-Lorain County Common Pleas Judge Paul Mikus.
At the same time the Kendal at Oberlin dispute was brewing, potential developers of land around Wal-Mart were clamoring for answers on who would serve them in the future, Norenberg said.
One developer mentioned filing a lawsuit to get an answer, he said.
Interest bloomed in the area around Routes 58 and 20 after Wal-Mart opened in October 2006. A year later, Advance Auto Parts Inc. opened a 7,000-square-foot store on Route 58.
And Youngstown-area developer Lou DeVicchio built a new shopping center from the shell of the old Ames department store at Routes 58 and 20, although the expected tenants — a shoe store, hair salons and a Chinese restaurant — have not yet moved in, and a lawsuit over access to Route 58 is pending.
And while the development hasn’t happened as fast as anticipated given the tightening economy, Pittsfield Township has benefited from what has occurred so far, said Trustee Mark McConnell, who also is on the board of the water authority.
In 2006, Oberlin agreed to share 18 percent of income taxes with the township in an annexation agreement that calls for various types of revenue-sharing for the area around Wal-Mart, McConnell said. As a result, the township has not had to increase the amount of its road and bridge levy, McConnell said.
“The township is in favor of this agreement,” McConnell said. “Mr. Norenberg is doing a great job of reaching out to the township and Rural Water.”
Sonner, president of Oberlin Council, said that while the agreement is a step forward, he doesn’t see the area growing too much in the near future given the economy.
“If you were a developer, wouldn’t you be skittish?” he asked.
Contact Cindy Leise at 653-6250 or cleise@chroniclet.com.
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Filed by Cindy Leise | The Chronicle-Telegram July 15th, 2008 in Local and State. Popularity: 3% |
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