Explanation
BACKGROUND: This ordinance authorizes the Director of Development to enter into an Annexation Agreement among the City of Columbus, Franklin County, Brown Township and Prairie Township in connection with the adoption of the Darby Town Center Master Plan and various activities within the Big Darby Accord Watershed. The Annexation Agreement will only take effect upon the adoption of the Darby Town Center Master Plan by all four parties to the Annexation Agreement.
Consistent with the Big Darby Accord Watershed Master Plan of 2006 and subsequent commitments by the City of Columbus, sewer and water services will be made available to the Darby Town Center and water services made available to conservation developments in the Big Darby Accord Watershed without any requirement of annexation.The parties agree, subject to the availability of resources, to cooperatively review the Town Center Master Plan within five years of its full adoption and to make any revisions thereto as mutually agreed by the Parties.
FISCAL IMPACT: No funds are required for this ordinance.
Title
To authorize the Director of the Development Department to sign the Annexation Agreement by and among the City of Columbus, Franklin County, Brown Township, and Prairie Township.
Body
WHEREAS, the City of Columbus, Franklin County, Brown Township and Prairie Township (the "Parties") played leading roles in the path-breaking planning partnership to protect the precious natural resources of the Big Darby Accord Watershed in a balanced manner that includes sustainable development at appropriate locations. This cooperative planning effort resulted in the completion and adoption of the Big Darby Accord Watershed Master Plan (Final / June 2006); and
WHEREAS, the Parties have demonstrated their ongoing leadership by taking many cooperative steps to implement the Accord. This has included the establishment of and participation in the Big Darby Accord Working Group (BDAWG), the Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC) and various other ongoing and ad-hoc committees. The Parties established and continue to appoint members and provide staff for, the Big Darby Accord Advisory Panel, and in 2009 adopted the Big Darby Revenue Program (April 2009); and
WHEREAS, the Parties appropriated the necessary funds, conducted an open professional selection process, engaged multi-disciplinary professional consulting services and developed the Big Darby Town Center Master Plan (2011) ("Town Center Master Plan"). Public involvement has played a major role throughout the planning process, with the general public and with stakeholders such as property owners, the Building Industry Association (BIA), environmentalists and environmental organizations. Coordination has taken place with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA), the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR), the Columbus and Franklin County Metropolitan Park District, the Franklin County Engineer, Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District, the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) and others; and
WHEREAS, page 4-26 of the Accord contains the following two sentences: "Based on an analysis of available capacity within the Big Run Sanitary Trunk Sewer line, the City of Columbus currently estimates the sewer capacity available to the Town Center area is 5,000 equivalent dwelling units. Additional capacity in the trunk sewer may be made available over time as improvements to the overall system are completed"; and
WHEREAS, the Accord contemplated that the City's provision of centralized sewer and water service to the "Town Center Areas" and centralized water service to the "Conservation Development Areas" would not be accompanied by the City's requirement of annexation of the associated unincorporated properties, and the Parties wish to formalize that arrangement by entering into this Annexation Agreement pursuant to Section 709.192 of the Ohio Revised Code; and
WHEREAS, in May of 2009 Mayor Michael Coleman reaffirmed the foregoing principles in a letter to the Trustees of Brown, Pleasant and Prairie Township. That letter also stated that the City supports the concept of publicly owned and operated alternative wastewater treatment facilities for the Conservation Development Areas, and the Franklin County Sanitary Engineer has recently also stated support for that; and
WHEREAS, the Parties desire to allow for further planning efforts in the areas encompassed by the Accord and the Town Center Master Plan and to provide for the implementation of certain aspects of each; and
WHEREAS, the Parties further desire to provide for (a) continued cooperative implementation of the Accord and the Revenue Program; (b) a cooperative approach toward the adoption of the Town Center Master Plan and its review within five years; (c) the position and agreement of the Parties regarding alternative wastewater services in the Conservation Development Areas; and NOW THEREFORE,
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
Section 1. That the Director of the Department of Development is hereby authorized to enter into an Annexation Agreement on behalf of the City of Columbus with Franklin County, Brown Township and Prairie Township, and to take other necessary steps, for the purposes of effectuating the cooperative adoption of the Darby Town Center Master Plan and such other actions within the Big Darby Accord Watershed as are agreed to in the Annexation Agreement, including making available certain utility services without requiring annexation.
Section 2. That this ordinance shall take effect and be in force from and after the earliest period allowed by law.