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As Introduced
136th
General Assembly
Regular
Session
H. B. No. 829
2025-2026
Representative Hall, T.
To
amend sections 709.023 and 709.024 of the Revised Code
to
halt an expedited type two or three annexation upon objection of a
township.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section
1.
That
sections 709.023 and 709.024 of the Revised Code be amended to read
as follows:
Sec.
709.023.
(A)
A petition filed under section 709.021 of the Revised Code that
requests to follow this section is for the special procedure of
annexing land into a municipal corporation when, subject to division
(H) of this section, the land also is not to be excluded from the
township under section 503.07 of the Revised Code. The owners who
sign this petition by their signature expressly waive their right to
appeal in law or equity from the board of county commissioners' entry
of any resolution under this section, waive any rights they may have
to sue on any issue relating to a municipal corporation requiring a
buffer as provided in this section, and waive any rights to seek a
variance that would relieve or exempt them from that buffer
requirement.
The
petition circulated to collect signatures for the special procedure
in this section shall contain in boldface capital letters immediately
above the heading of the place for signatures on each part of the
petition the following: "WHOEVER SIGNS THIS PETITION EXPRESSLY
WAIVES THEIR RIGHT TO APPEAL IN LAW OR EQUITY FROM THE BOARD OF
COUNTY COMMISSIONERS' ENTRY OF ANY RESOLUTION PERTAINING TO THIS
SPECIAL ANNEXATION PROCEDURE, ALTHOUGH A WRIT OF MANDAMUS MAY BE
SOUGHT TO COMPEL THE BOARD TO PERFORM ITS DUTIES REQUIRED BY LAW FOR
THIS SPECIAL ANNEXATION PROCEDURE."
(B)
Upon the filing of the petition in the office of the clerk of the
board of county commissioners, the clerk shall cause the petition to
be entered upon the board's journal at its next regular session. This
entry shall be the first official act of the board on the petition.
Within five days after the filing of the petition, the agent for the
petitioners shall notify in the manner and form specified in this
division the clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal
corporation to which annexation is proposed, the fiscal officer of
each township any portion of which is included within the territory
proposed for annexation, the clerk of the board of county
commissioners of each county in which the territory proposed for
annexation is located other than the county in which the petition is
filed, and the owners of property adjacent to the territory proposed
for annexation or adjacent to a road that is adjacent to that
territory and located directly across that road from that territory.
The notice shall refer to the time and date when the petition was
filed and the county in which it was filed and shall have attached or
shall be accompanied by a copy of the petition and any attachments or
documents accompanying the petition as filed.
Notice
to a property owner is sufficient if sent by regular United States
mail to the tax mailing address listed on the county auditor's
records. Notice to the appropriate government officer shall be given
by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by causing the notice
to be personally served on the officer, with proof of service by
affidavit of the person who delivered the notice. Proof of service of
the notice on each appropriate government officer shall be filed with
the board of county commissioners with which the petition was filed.
(C)
Within twenty days after the date that the petition is filed, the
legislative authority of the municipal corporation to which
annexation is proposed shall adopt an ordinance or resolution stating
what services the municipal corporation will provide, and an
approximate date by which it will provide them, to the territory
proposed for annexation, upon annexation. The municipal corporation
is entitled in its sole discretion to provide to the territory
proposed for annexation, upon annexation, services in addition to the
services described in that ordinance or resolution.
If
the territory proposed for annexation is subject to zoning
regulations adopted under either Chapter 303. or 519. of the Revised
Code at the time the petition is filed, the legislative authority of
the municipal corporation also shall adopt an ordinance or resolution
stating that, if the territory is annexed and becomes subject to
zoning by the municipal corporation and that municipal zoning permits
uses in the annexed territory that the municipal corporation
determines are clearly incompatible with the uses permitted under
current county or township zoning regulations in the adjacent land
remaining within the township from which the territory was annexed,
the legislative authority of the municipal corporation will require,
in the zoning ordinance permitting the incompatible uses, the owner
of the annexed territory to provide a buffer separating the use of
the annexed territory and the adjacent land remaining within the
township. For the purposes of this section, "buffer"
includes open space, landscaping, fences, walls, and other structured
elements; streets and street rights-of-way; and bicycle and
pedestrian paths and sidewalks.
The
clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation to
which annexation is proposed shall file the ordinances or resolutions
adopted under this division with the board of county commissioners
within twenty days following the date that the petition is filed. The
board shall make these ordinances or resolutions available for public
inspection.
(D)
Within
twenty-five
sixty
days
after the date that the petition is filed, the legislative authority
of the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed and each
township any portion of which is included within the territory
proposed for annexation
may
shall
adopt
and file with the board of county commissioners an ordinance or
resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed annexation.
An objection to the proposed annexation shall be based solely upon
the petition's failure to meet the conditions specified in division
(E) of this section.
If
the municipal corporation and each of those townships timely files an
ordinance or resolution consenting to the proposed annexation, the
board at its next regular session shall enter upon its journal a
resolution granting the proposed annexation. If, instead, the
municipal corporation or any of those townships files an ordinance or
resolution that objects to the proposed annexation, the board of
county commissioners shall proceed as provided in division (E) of
this section. Failure of the municipal corporation or any of those
townships to timely file an ordinance or resolution consenting or
objecting to the proposed annexation shall be deemed to constitute
consent by that municipal corporation or township to the proposed
annexation.
(E)
Unless the petition is granted under division (D) of this section,
not less than thirty or more than forty-five days after the date that
the petition is filed,
(E)(1)
If the municipal corporation or one or more townships objects to the
proposed annexation, the board of county commissioners at its next
regular meeting shall enter upon its journal a resolution that denies
the petition and that states which entity or entities object.
(2)
If the municipal corporation and all involved townships consent to
the proposed annexation,
the
board of county commissioners shall review it to determine if each of
the following conditions has been met:
(1)
(a)
The petition meets all the requirements set forth in, and was filed
in the manner provided in, section 709.021 of the Revised Code.
(2)
(b)
The persons who signed the petition are owners of the real estate
located in the territory proposed for annexation and constitute all
of the owners of real estate in that territory.
(3)
(c)
The territory proposed for annexation does not exceed five hundred
acres.
(4)
(d)
The territory proposed for annexation shares a contiguous boundary
with the municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed for a
continuous length of at least five per cent of the perimeter of the
territory proposed for annexation.
(5)
(e)
The annexation will not create an unincorporated area of the township
that is completely surrounded by the territory proposed for
annexation.
(6)
(f)
The municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed has agreed
to provide to the territory proposed for annexation the services
specified in the relevant ordinance or resolution adopted under
division (C) of this section.
(7)
(g)
If a street or highway will be divided or segmented by the boundary
line between the township and the municipal corporation as to create
a road maintenance problem, the municipal corporation to which
annexation is proposed has agreed as a condition of the annexation to
assume the maintenance of that street or highway or to otherwise
correct the problem. As used in this section, "street" or
"highway" has the same meaning as in section 4511.01 of the
Revised Code.
(F)
Not less than
thirty
sixty-five
or
more than
forty-five
eighty
days
after the date that the petition is filed,
if
the petition is not granted under division (D) of this section,
the
board of county commissioners, if it finds that each of the
conditions specified in division
(E)
(E)(2)
of this section has been met, shall enter upon its journal a
resolution granting the annexation. If the board of county
commissioners finds that one or more of the conditions specified in
division
(E)
(E)(2)
of this section have not been met, it shall enter upon its journal a
resolution that states which of those conditions the board finds have
not been met and that denies the petition.
(G)
If a petition is granted under division
(D)
or
(F)
of this section, the clerk of the board of county commissioners shall
proceed as provided in division (C)(1) of section 709.033 of the
Revised Code, except that no recording or hearing exhibits would be
involved. There is no appeal in law or equity from the board's entry
of any resolution under this section, but any party may seek a writ
of mandamus to compel the board of county commissioners to perform
its duties under this section.
(H)
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 503.07 of the
Revised Code, unless otherwise provided in an annexation agreement
entered into pursuant to section 709.192 of the Revised Code or in a
cooperative economic development agreement entered into pursuant to
section 701.07 of the Revised Code, territory annexed into a
municipal corporation pursuant to this section shall not at any time
be excluded from the township under section 503.07 of the Revised
Code and, thus, remains subject to the township's real property
taxes.
(I)
Any owner of land that remains within a township and that is adjacent
to territory annexed pursuant to this section who is directly
affected by the failure of the annexing municipal corporation to
enforce compliance with any zoning ordinance it adopts under division
(C) of this section requiring the owner of the annexed territory to
provide a buffer zone, may commence in the court of common pleas a
civil action against that owner to enforce compliance with that
buffer requirement whenever the required buffer is not in place
before any development of the annexed territory begins.
(J)
Division (C)(18) of section 718.01 of the Revised Code applies to the
compensation paid to persons performing personal services for a
political subdivision on property owned by the political subdivision
after that property is annexed to a municipal corporation under this
section.
Sec.
709.024.
(A)
A petition filed under section 709.021 of the Revised Code that
requests to follow this section is for the special procedure of
annexing land into a municipal corporation for the purpose of
undertaking a significant economic development project. As used in
this section, "significant economic development project"
means one or more economic development projects that can be
classified as industrial, distribution, high technology, research and
development, or commercial, which projects may include ancillary
residential and retail uses and which projects shall satisfy all of
the following:
(1)
Total private real and personal property investment in a project
shall be in excess of ten million dollars through land and
infrastructure, new construction, reconstruction, installation of
fixtures and equipment, or the addition of inventory, excluding
investment solely related to the ancillary residential and retail
elements, if any, of the project. As used in this division, "private
real and personal property investment" does not include payments
in lieu of taxes, however characterized, under Chapter 725. or 1728.
or sections 5709.40 to 5709.43, 5709.45 to 5709.47, 5709.73 to
5709.75, or 5709.78 to 5709.81 of the Revised Code.
(2)
There shall be created by the project an additional annual payroll in
excess of one million dollars, excluding payroll arising solely out
of the retail elements, if any, of the project.
(3)
The project has been certified by the state director of development
as meeting the requirements of divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this
section.
(B)
Upon the filing of the petition under section 709.021 of the Revised
Code in the office of the clerk of the board of county commissioners,
the clerk shall cause the petition to be entered upon the journal of
the board at its next regular session. This entry shall be the first
official act of the board on the petition. Within five days after the
filing of the petition, the agent for the petitioners shall notify in
the manner and form specified in this division the clerk of the
legislative authority of the municipal corporation to which
annexation is proposed, the fiscal officer of each township any
portion of which is included within the territory proposed for
annexation, the clerk of the board of county commissioners of each
county in which the territory proposed for annexation is located
other than the county in which the petition is filed, and the owners
of property adjacent to the territory proposed for annexation or
adjacent to a road that is adjacent to that territory and located
directly across that road from that territory. The notice shall refer
to the time and date when the petition was filed and the county in
which it was filed and shall have attached or shall be accompanied by
a copy of the petition and any attachments or documents accompanying
the petition as filed.
Notice
to a property owner is sufficient if sent by regular United States
mail to the tax mailing address listed on the county auditor's
records. Notice to the appropriate government officer shall be given
by certified mail, return receipt requested, or by causing the notice
to be personally served on the officer, with proof of service by
affidavit of the person who delivered the notice. Proof of service of
the notice on each appropriate government officer shall be filed with
the board of county commissioners with which the petition was filed.
(C)(1)
Within
thirty
sixty
days
after the petition is filed, the legislative authority of the
municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed and each
township any portion of which is included within the territory
proposed for annexation
may
shall
adopt
and file with the board of county commissioners an ordinance or
resolution consenting or objecting to the proposed annexation.
An objection to the proposed annexation shall be based solely upon
the petition's failure to meet the conditions specified in division
(F) of this section. Failure of the municipal corporation or any of
those townships to timely file an ordinance or resolution consenting
or objecting to the proposed annexation shall be deemed to constitute
consent by that municipal corporation or township to the proposed
annexation.
(2)
Within twenty days after receiving the notice required by division
(B) of this section, the legislative authority of the municipal
corporation shall adopt, by ordinance or resolution, a statement
indicating what services the municipal corporation will provide or
cause to be provided, and an approximate date by which it will
provide or cause them to be provided, to the territory proposed for
annexation, upon annexation. If a hearing is to be conducted under
division (E) of this section, the legislative authority shall file
the statement with the clerk of the board of county commissioners at
least twenty days before the date of the hearing.
(D)
If
all
parties to the annexation proceedings consent
the
municipal corporation or one or more townships objects
to
the proposed annexation,
a
hearing shall not be held, and
the
board, at its next regular session, shall enter upon its journal a
resolution
granting
that
denies
the
annexation
and that states which entity or entities object
.
There is no appeal in law or in equity from the board's entry of a
resolution under this division. The clerk of the board shall proceed
as provided in division (C)(1) of section 709.033 of the Revised
Code.
(E)
Unless
the petition is granted under division (D) of this section
If
the municipal corporation and all involved townships consent to the
proposed annexation
,
a hearing shall be held on the petition. The board of county
commissioners shall hear the petition at its next regular session and
shall notify the agent for the petitioners of the hearing's date,
time, and place. The agent for the petitioners shall give, within
five days after receipt of the notice of the hearing from the board,
to the parties and property owners entitled to notice under division
(B) of this section, notice of the date, time, and place of the
hearing. Notice to a property owner is sufficient if sent by regular
United States mail to the tax mailing address listed on the county
auditor's records. At the hearing, the parties and any owner of real
estate within the territory proposed to be annexed are entitled to
appear for the purposes described in division (C) of section 709.032
of the Revised Code.
(F)
Within thirty days after a hearing under division (E) of this
section, the board of county commissioners shall enter upon its
journal a resolution granting or denying the proposed annexation. The
resolution shall include specific findings of fact as to whether or
not each of the conditions listed in this division has been met. If
the board grants the annexation, the clerk of the board shall proceed
as provided in division (C)(1) of section 709.033 of the Revised
Code.
The
board shall enter a resolution granting the annexation if it finds,
based upon a preponderance of the substantial, reliable, and
probative evidence on the whole record, that each of the following
conditions has been met:
(1)
The petition meets all the requirements set forth in, and was filed
in the manner provided in, section 709.021 of the Revised Code.
(2)
The persons who signed the petition are owners of real estate located
in the territory proposed to be annexed in the petition and
constitute all of the owners of real estate in that territory.
(3)
No street or highway will be divided or segmented by the boundary
line between a township and the municipal corporation as to create a
road maintenance problem, or if the street or highway will be so
divided or segmented, the municipal corporation has agreed, as a
condition of the annexation, that it will assume the maintenance of
that street or highway. For the purposes of this division, "street"
or "highway" has the same meaning as in section 4511.01 of
the Revised Code.
(4)
The municipal corporation to which the territory is proposed to be
annexed has adopted an ordinance or resolution as required by
division (C)(2) of this section.
(5)
The state director of development has certified that the project
meets the requirements of divisions (A)(1) and (2) of this section
and thereby qualifies as a significant economic development project.
The director's certification is binding on the board of county
commissioners.
(G)
An owner who signed the petition may appeal a decision of the board
of county commissioners denying the proposed annexation under section
709.07 of the Revised Code. No other person has standing to appeal
the board's decision in law or in equity. If the board grants the
annexation, there shall be no appeal in law or in equity.
(H)
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in section 503.07 of the
Revised Code, unless otherwise provided in an annexation agreement
entered into pursuant to section 709.192 of the Revised Code or in a
cooperative economic development agreement entered into pursuant to
section 701.07 of the Revised Code, territory annexed into a
municipal corporation pursuant to this section shall not at any time
be excluded from the township under section 503.07 of the Revised
Code and, thus, remains subject to the township's real property
taxes.
(I)
A municipal corporation to which annexation is proposed is entitled
in its sole discretion to provide to the territory proposed for
annexation, upon annexation, services in addition to the services
described in the ordinance or resolution adopted by the legislative
authority of the municipal corporation under division (C)(2) of this
section.
Section
2.
That
existing sections 709.023 and 709.024 of the Revised Code are hereby
repealed.
Section
3.
The
changes to annexation proceedings under sections 709.023 and 709.024
of the Revised Code as amended by this act apply only to an
annexation for which the petition is filed on or after the effective
date of this section.