Sylvania city to annex 82 acres of Sylvania Township property
5/1/2018Sylvania will grow by 82 acres as Lucas County commissioners Tuesday approved the city's annexing some Sylvania Township property.
The designated area is roughly between Erie Street, Centennial Road, and Little Road. This section bumps against property already within city jurisdiction. It includes 95 parcels of land.
Leslie Brinning, the city’s law director, said they filed an annexation request Feb. 20. Property owners at Mayberry Village came to the city about a year ago with sewer pumping station problems, she said.
The city agreed to help, contingent on annexation, and residents were more than happy to do so, Ms. Brinning said. About 75 percent of property owners in the area signed a petition in support, she said.
“If the residents are asking for it, they give great deference to the wish of the residents,” Ms. Brinning said.
The city is uniquely situated to provide assistance, as these properties are in its water and sewer area, she said.
These residents will no longer pay a property tax for police and roads, which the township collects and city does not, Ms. Brinning said.
Sylvania city levies a wage tax of 1.5 percent for salaries received within its municipality and income that residents earned outside it. Sylvania also credits taxes paid to other cities. Ms. Brinning was not yet sure how much the city would gain in new tax revenue.
Next is a six-month waiting period as required by law. It allows time for internal zoning and the auditor's office to switch parcel numbers.
In an interview, township Trustee Neal Mahoney said he and many residents are unhappy with the move. The city, however, has every right to annex it, he said.
“Legally, we can't do anything. If we had some legal authority, we would fight it,” Mr. Mahoney said.
The city laid waterline years ago and is now enforcing a rule to bring these residents into its municipality, Mr. Mahoney said.
Mr. Mahoney said that while he does not have financial numbers on the impact, he expects it will not be significant overall. The city and township share a fire department, but operate separate police forces.
Contact Ryan Dunn at rdunn@theblade.com, 419-724-6095, or on Twitter @RDunnBlade.