Sylvania aims to incorporate 3.35 acres

Properties eyed for community reinvestment

6/30/2014

THE BLADE
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The city of Sylvania has submitted a petition to the county requesting to annex about three acres of land from Sylvania Township.

The petition, filed in April, will be reviewed by the Lucas County Commissioners at 10 a.m. July 22. The petition requests that 3.35 acres be placed under the city’s domain. The properties are located at 4503, 4455, 4443, and 4439 Holland Sylvania Rd.

Former Law Director Jim Moan, who now serves as the city’s special counsel, said last year he offered several township residents the “opportunity to become part of an expanded CRA district.”

Last spring and summer the city reviewed its tax abatement districts known as Community Reinvestment Areas, in which property owners can receive tax breaks for improvements made to buildings or homes.

The tax on the increased property value is eligible for abatement for up to 15 years.

Last June council restored three of its nine CRAs, while extending two of them. Most of the CRAs had been inactive since the 1990s. The four properties in this annexation request are near a CRA district that the city is considering expanding, current Law Director Leslie Brinning said.

She said the property owners could benefit from the CRA as most of the property is undeveloped.

Two of the three property owners have signed the petition.

A resident whose home is in between the other vacant lots, has not signed the petition.

Mrs. Brinning said that annexations have to include continuous property, so one portion could not be carved out.

Contact Natalie Trusso Cafarello at: 419-206-0356, or ntrusso@theblade.com, or on Twitter @natalietrusso.