May 11, 200619 yr From the 5/11/06 Western Star (Lebanon): Developer seeks to stop referendum Hines-Griffin lawyers question validity of some signatures; resident says they are all valid Thursday, May 11, 2006 By Daniel Wells Staff Writer Lawyers for Hines-Griffin Land Development Co. have requested a protest hearing with the Warren County Board Of Elections in hopes of stopping a referendum on San Mar Gale’s rezoning. Turtlecreek Twp. residents want to challenge the county commissioners’ decision to change the zoning for 3,239 acres from single-family residential to a mixed use of residences and businesses. ... http://www.western-star.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/05/11/ws0511sanmargale.html
July 1, 200618 yr From the 7/1/06 Enquirer: Schools wait on San Mar Gale Plans would bring thousands to Lebanon district BY MICHAEL D. CLARK | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER LEBANON - If voters here get a chance to decide the fate of Southwest Ohio's largest housing development, their vote may also determine the financial future of Lebanon schools. Two versions of the proposed San Mar Gale development just outside Lebanon would bring either 2,150 or 3,372 new homes to Turtlecreek Township and the Lebanon school district. ... http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060701/NEWS01/607010354/1056
July 12, 200618 yr Voters to have say in rezoning San Mar Gale would be huge BY JANICE MORSE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER Voters in Turtlecreek Township will decide the fate in November of San Mar Gale, a proposed development that would bring thousands of homes to this Warren County area. Warren County commissioners on Tuesday approved the ballot language for a referendum that was forced by opponents of the San Mar Gale project. ... http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060712/NEWS01/607120353/1056
July 12, 200618 yr It will continue, but it can be limited so certain pieces of land are saved. As with this development, they are saving land by taking a huge piece, and slowly developing it. It is nice to keep land rural, that is why 95% of our country is undeveloped. I dont know how you can say that they are preserving land with this project.......last time I checked there are plenty of available housing option within Hamilton County and in the city. Preservation of land would be to not go forward with this 3,000+ acre development, and to instead focus efforts on redeveloping older neighborhoods and buildings. Should your 95% number be accurate then it is still not enough. There is no reason for our development, across the nation, to be taking up as much land as it does. At one time the US used to be the largest food producing nation...not anymore! We are tearing through our farmland to build these 3,000+ acre developments as if it were the last option on earth. If you do not wish to live in an urbanized environment...FINE, go to the county, tend to a farm/animals, and be happy. But if you want to work at P&G and have all the other luxuries of an urbanized area...then put something into the pot and live there. These people that move to the 'burbs are cheap freeloading pieces o' crap! They dont want to pay for public services, but they sure do want to use them.......sure they would love to have good paying, highly educated jobs, but they certainly do not want the development issues that come with them. It is rediculous and irresponsible to move/live in the 'burbs! If you want an urbanized environment...then live in the urban core! If you want a rural environment....then live on a farm! There is a place for both, but not for the inbetween freeloading suburbia crap!
November 3, 200618 yr Warren voters to mold project Outcome selects one of two plans BY JESSICA BROWN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER TURTLECREEK TWP. - The largest modern subdivision in Southwest Ohio is coming to this Warren County community whether residents like it or not. But they will have a chance Tuesday to have a say in what it will look like. Voters will be asked to approve or reject a proposed zoning amendment for San Mar Gale, a housing development that would turn nearly 3,000 acres of Turtlecreek Township farmland and woods into a 5.2-square-mile village. ... http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061103/NEWS01/611030362/1056/COL02
November 8, 200618 yr Well, the "better" proposal passed (less houses,more greenspace, and a town center). Turtlecreek Twp. Zoning Referendum Candidate/Issue Votes Percentage YES 2062 62% NO 1247 37% Total Votes: 3309 9 of 9 precincts reporting Turtlecreek voters to decide on development By Daniel Wells Staff Writer Sunday, October 29, 2006 TURTLECREEK TWP. — "Yes" for Plan A: 2,150 homes, a 22-acre town business center and 971 acres of open space. "No" for Plan B: 3,372 homes, no town business center and 802 acres of open space. ... http://www.middletownjournal.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2006/10/29/mj102906sanmargale.html
November 10, 200618 yr Village's planning started San Mar Gale moves ahead after zoning vote BY JESSICA BROWN | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER Link to PDF Development Plan: http://news.enquirer.com/assets/AB493951110.PDF TURTLECREEK TWP. - Developers of the largest subdivision in the region could break ground by next summer. Turtlecreek Township voters approved a zoning amendment Tuesday that clears the way for the 5.2-square-mile San Mar Gale village to move forward as planned. ... http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061110/NEWS01/611100367/1056/COL02
June 29, 200717 yr Developers pursue little-used funding tool BY LAURA BAVERMAN | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER June 29, 2007 TURTLECREEK TWP. - The 3,400-acre village of SanMarGale planned for northern Warren County will jump its final hurdle this month when county commissioners approve using a little-known financing tool called "new community authority." Established by the Ohio General Assembly in 1972, this rule allows developers of residential land of more than 1,000 acres to tack on an additional fee to each new homeowner's property taxes. The subsidy provides funding for public improvements to roadways, parks, schools and sewer lines in the new community. ...
July 2, 200717 yr Do I understand this right? Developers fight tooth & nail the notion of Impact Fees imposed by cities and townships, claiming it will drive up the cost of business and cause people to not buy. Now they turn around and dust off a law that allows THEM to impose Impact Fees> Did I understand this right? Unbelievable. This will be thrown back in the face of developers every time they complain about township impact fees !!!!
July 3, 200717 yr ^ New Community Authority is a bit more than impact fees. This isn't very good reporting. They say this has not been used in SW Ohio. The legislation was originally driven by a SW Ohio project, the Newfields New Town, which was to be located between Trotwood and Brookville, outside of Dayton. The idea was that the New Community Authority would collect fees as a sort of "tax" on residents, to pay for things like open space, parklands, foot- and bike-paths, community centers, and so forth. The idea was not really impact fee as much as something to pay for things that would enhance a community. Things like schools and so forth would still be paid for by property taxes and bond issues, by local school districts. The federal program alluded to in the article was not to build communities in rural areas but to create new towns as a demonstration program, to show a better way to accomodate suburban growth and mitigate sprawl. Most of the towns planned under that program were located near citys.
January 14, 200817 yr Village rising despite market SanMarGale sticking to building plan BY ELAINE TRUMPEY | [email protected] TURTLECREEK TWP. - The housing market slowdown hasn't done much to slow down plans for a 2,000-home village to be built from scratch in Warren County. The SanMarGale Village Information Center, to be opened next month, is the latest sign that the huge and sometimes controversial resort-style community is moving closer to reality. ... http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080114/NEWS01/801140353/1056/COL02
January 16, 200817 yr I think a better word is stupid though if they all the sudden decided to fund a light rail system to the development or even a commuter bus line to Cincy and Dayton then they might actually have something.
November 27, 200816 yr San Mar Gale moves closer to reality - again By Elaine Trumpey • [email protected] • November 27, 2008 TURTLECREEK TWP. - A 5.2-square-mile village planned for a rolling, wooded area of Warren County could start taking shape next year. Developers of San Mar Gale now expect to break ground for the project in the spring, two years later than originally planned. ... http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20081127/NEWS01/811270402/1168/NEWS
November 28, 200816 yr community with up to 2,150 homes and condominiums - some of them multi-million-dollar estate homes Do people who buy multi-million-dollar estate homes realy want condos for neighbors? Upscall housing does not work well in Lebanon. It's been discussed on this board before. Dispite the population trends in Warren county, Lebanon remains the hold-out of blue-collar workers... landscape people, plumbers, HVAC people etc. Dispite many efforts, it has not gentified to any real extent over the past 20 years. Take the Shaker Run developments down the street from me. They built houses around the golf course, but then tried to build "upscale" housing in a pocket next to it...$375k housing in an area called "the Estates of Shaker Run". Well, they built 3 houses over a year ago. Then the stopped. None of those houses sold, and all 3 remain on the market today - over 12 months later. This will be the second winter the houses have sat there completed, unoccupied. And you have to drive thru 20 vacant, overgrown lots to reach the 3 at the very back of the development.
December 7, 200816 yr ^ Blue collar nirvana. but the company believes its product will "transcend" the market. Doesn't everyone think they're "special"? :-D
October 24, 201014 yr From the Middletown Journal: Plans for upscale village ‘sitting in mothballs’ Permit to install wastewater treatment facilities expired Oct. 1 TURTLECREEK TWP., Warren County — Four years ago, the San Mar Gale project was slated to be the largest development as well as the largest community in Warren County. That project apparently remains in limbo as the permit to install wastewater treatment facilities expired on Oct. 1, leaving the developer and county officials figuring out what the next steps will be for the 3,239-acre group of farms between Lebanon and Oregonia development. http://www.middletownjournal.com/news/middletown-news/plans-for-upscale-village-sitting-in-mothballs-984676.html
October 25, 201014 yr If I recall correctly, the approval of the wastewater treatement system was highly controversial. To let those permits expire without acting on them sends a strong message that this project is unlikely to proceed as originally approved.
February 17, 201114 yr The development is canceled. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110217/NEWS01/102180335/Recession-kills-mega-development?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE
February 18, 201114 yr Perhaps Warren County should try to purchase some of the aggregated property for a metro park.
February 18, 201114 yr The development is canceled. http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20110217/NEWS01/102180335/Recession-kills-mega-development?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|FRONTPAGE Halleluia!!!
February 22, 201114 yr The unfortunate thing about this was that the planning seemed pretty good. But, as we all know, reality doesnt meet the plans in most cases. So far the only thing in the region at the same scale as San Mar Gale is that Nutter development in Greene County between Beavercreek and Xenia...Stoneridge or Stone Bridge or something. The Nutters had a very long time-horizon for there property so are developing it bit by bit.
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