Development zone appeal is promised

4/20/2005

Monclova Township and the cities of Toledo and Maumee plan to appeal a Lucas County Common Pleas Court ruling that dissolved a 579-acre joint economic development zone set up by the three entities.

Officials say they'll jointly file an appeal in the next 30 days. "We feel we have a chance of winning," said John Jezak, Maumee's city administrator.

Judge Charles Wittenberg ruled this month that the contract regulating the zone dissolved in March, 2004. The zone was set up in 2003 so the two cities and the township could share taxes from the area while sharing the cost of infrastructure improvements and services. It is southwest of I-475 and Salisbury Road and includes the Briarfield Business Park.

The contract establishing the zone ssays it would be "automatically terminated" three months after its creation if the zone's governing board did not adopt a resolution to levy an income tax.

The governing board voted in February, 2004, to levy a 1.5 percent income tax, but the court ruled that the levy was invalid.

The court decided that because the governing board did not put the tax before voters as state law requires, the board did not properly levy a tax, and the enterprise zone contract automatically dissolved.