Owner wants land annexed by Holland
5/29/2003The owner of about 45 acres of property north of Spring Meadows Shopping Center has filed a petition to annex the land from Springfield Township to the village of Holland.
Jerome Parker, attorney for the owners, Spring Meadows Associates, said that the move is “generally in the best interests'' of his client. “That's all I can say.''
The area to be annexed has frontage on McCord Road across from Springfield High School, with about 10 acres north of North Mall Drive. At its northern end, it abuts the village limits.
Springfield Township trustees recently rejected a request to develop the northern portion of the property with self-storage buildings.
Mr. Parker said, “I don't think that's it,'' when asked if the denial by trustees prompted the move to request annexation to Holland.
The project, proposed by developer Gary Grup, had been approved with certain conditions by both the county and township planning commissions but was denied on a final plan review by the trustees.
George Oravecz, a consulting engineer on the project, said some of the units were to be climate controlled and that they would look like commercial buildings.
“They aren't designed to just look like a bunch of garages,'' he said.
He said Mr. Grup had complied with requests from earlier reviewing bodies.
Susan Meek, chairman of the trustees, said the plan was turned down because it didn't meet the open-space requirements of the township. She said the trustees asked that he remove from the plan a building of about 5,600 sq. ft., but that the developer declined.
Ms. Meek said she isn't pleased with the annexation petition, “but this is the United States, so they can do what they think they have to do.''
She said the petition will be reviewed by the township attorney to determine if it meets legal requirements. She said she doesn't regret the trustees' vote, which turned down Mr. Grup's proposed development.
The Lucas County commissioners will hear the request for annexation at a meeting in August.