From the 9/22/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

County to revise roads master plan

By Chris Dumond

Butler County Bureau

 

HAMILTON — More than a decade and 32,000 new residents after its last major revision, the master plan for Butler County’s roads is getting an update.

 

County commissioners adopted the existing thoroughfare plan in 1994 as a tool for the planning and construction of new roads, as well as upgrades to existing roadways. Since then, $320 million has been spent on major construction projects — such as Ohio 129 and the widening of Ohio 747 — in an attempt to keep up with the growth Butler County has seen in commerce and residents.

 

With the help of public and private leaders from across the county, county Engineer Greg Wilkens said it’s time to plan for the growth expected to be seen in the next 10 to 20 years.

 

Much of the process, Wilkens said, will be in the tweaking of the existing plan to fit future needs. However, there will be a new emphasis on economic development and in making travel easier for those on bicycles or on foot.

 

“The public is seeking a quality of life and the bike paths and pedestrian-type walking facilities are becoming a bigger priority than they have been in the past,” he said.

 

Planning for these things is important, he said, because they directly impact the width needed for roadways.

 

The committee revising the plan will also take a closer look at the increasing number of rooftops west of the Great Miami River, he said.

 

Although one of the goals of the roads plan is to set priorities and time lines for capital improvements, Wilkens said right of way definitions can be just as important.

 

When new developments are planned within the county, developers are required to donate any county right of way identified on the thoroughfare plan.

 

“That means they donate the right of way width so you don’t have to purchase it in the future,” Wilkens said. “With some land going for a quarter of a million dollars an acre, that is a very valuable tool.”

 

Wilkens’ committee of planners, engineers, city officials, business leaders and township trustees will continue to meet and revise the plan until next summer, when a final draft review is scheduled.

 

The plan is tentatively scheduled to go before the Butler County Planning Commission one year from now with public hearings and adoption by the Board of Commissioners in the winter of 2006.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/09/22/HJN0923ROADS_s.html

Large Y planned for W. Chester

Township will get its recreation center

 

By Jennifer Edwards

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - With hopes dashed for a community center to serve the township's nearly 60,000 residents, the Lakota Family YMCA plans to build a facility with a large competitive indoor pool on the west side of Ohio 747 near Smith Road.

 

The Lakota Family YMCA is in negotiations to buy the property.

 

A capital campaign to build the first YMCA in West Chester should begin next spring, said Greg Amend, president of the Lakota YMCA in Liberty Township.

 

He declined Wednesday to discuss the potential site further until details are finalized, likely late this fall.

 

The size and other features of the YMCA will depend on how much money is raised and how many people sign up to use it, he said. It's expected to draw customers from across West Chester and the west side of neighboring Liberty Township.

 

A Lakota Family YMCA on Yankee Road in Liberty serves about 2,000 families who pay an annual $550 membership fee, he said.

 

"The population is there and many employers in West Chester would like to have something like a Y accessible to their employees before work, at lunchtime and after work," Amend said.

 

West Chester voters rejected a $34 million center in May.

 

Lakota Family YMCA leaders reactivated their plans to build a facility in West Chester after shelving them while the community center was debated.

 

Resident John Schwamberger was upset when plans for the community center died. While he still would prefer one, a YMCA is the next best thing, he said.

 

"We have a population that is getting in worse and worse shape, and building more Wal-Marts and restaurants isn't going to help that," said Schwamberger, 33, an avid bicyclist. "We need things more geared toward fitness in West Chester."

 

Amend said he expects a West Chester YMCA to be a success despite the community center failure because of the area's enviable demographics.

 

"Community centers are generally big, white elephants that cost communities a lot of money because they are not good at running them," Amend said. "(West Chester) got carried away with trying to provide something for everybody. The costs got out of sight. It was crazy."

 

Trustee Catherine Stoker disputed that and said the community center would have offered day passes so everyone, not just members, could get in. "He's mad because we didn't help him with his Y," she said. "He wanted us to give him a bunch of benefits and we said 'No, we don't think so. The people have spoken.' "

 

Amend denied that but acknowledged that the cost of the 18-acre site where the community center was slated to go - across from Lakota West High School off West Chester Road and Union Centre Boulevard - is too expensive for the YMCA campaign.

 

The property owners, West Chester 75 Inc., still have it listed for sale.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050929/NEWS01/509290352/1056

From the 9/28/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Fox seeks refinancing of debt to aid projects

By Candice Brooks

Butler County Bureau

 

HAMILTON — County Commissioner Mike Fox has proposed a plan to make up to $18 million to push forward projects on state highways in Butler County, but there are barriers to the idea.

 

“I am suggesting that we do what millions of American homeowners have done — refinance their homes at lower interest rates,” Fox said. “By taking advantage of lower interest rates to refinance the highway project, we can use the savings in interest and the value of the cash reserves to fund local projects.”

 

Fox suggested Monday in a letter to state officials that the Butler County Transportation Improvement District refinance the outstanding $93 million debt on the Ohio 129 project as interest rates are expected to rise and take out the $13.6 million in the reserve fund. Then the TID could use the anticipated $4.3 million in savings and reserve funds to accelerate construction on the Ohio Bypass 4 widening, the Ohio 63 extension or the Oxford connector.

 

However, the plan’s success is dependent on the state’s willingness to cooperate and the ability of the TID to find another way to insure the last payment on the debt if the reserve fund is depleted.

 

New legislation gives the state the authority to refinance debt from county TIDs and use the savings for other projects in the state, Fox said. Therefore, Fox said he is suggesting that the county and the state work together to keep the money in the county.

 

“They may have the authority to (refinance) now, but they still are trumped by the bond documents,” he said. “In the past, we mistakenly believed that we needed (the state’s) permission, but there is nothing in any of the bond documents that restricts the TID if it chooses to refinance the debt.”

 

The Ohio Department of Transportation, which leased the bonds from the TID in 1997 and makes payments on the debt, now has the ability through the federal highway transportation bill passed in July to refinance debt for county TIDs, said Lindsay Mendicino, an ODOT spokeswoman. Butler County may be the only Ohio county affected by the legislation because it is the first and only county in the state to finance a project by selling bonds and leasing them to the ODOT, she said.

 

“Because the language is new, the (state) treasurer’s office is reviewing the language and seeing how it fits in the Ohio Revised Code and what the implications are for refinancing bonds,” Mendicino said.

 

Until the review is complete, ODOT can’t make a decision about Fox’s request, she said.

 

John Fonner, the executive director of the TID, said the idea has come up in the past, but the hurdle to jump is obtaining insurance of the last debt payment.

 

“If you use that reserve fund today, then you have to some way figure out how to make the last payment on the debt,” Fonner said. “Some folks in Columbus might want to use the money today considering the rapid increase in construction costs. If folks at the state are willing to consider using that money as today’s funds, then we want to make sure that those funds get spent on Butler County projects.”

 

TID board member Edward Shelton, a Hamilton city councilman, said the TID has meetings scheduled next week to look at the viability of the idea.

 

“We are very interested in working with the state to come to a resolve on it and make it happen,” he said.

 

Fox plans to asked his fellow commissioners to pass a resolution supporting the proposal at their meeting at 9:30 a.m. today in the Government Services Center, 315 High St. in Hamilton

 

Contact Candice Brooks at (513) 820-2175, or e-mail her at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/09/28/hjn0929TIDrefinance.html

 

From the 10/4/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Group concerned about development taking shape

By Chris Dumond

Butler County Bureau

 

HANOVER TOWNSHIP — A group of Butler County residents recently organized to combat development sprawling west of the Great Miami River got a name Tuesday night.

 

It also got an offer of help from another group traditionally concerned with Cincinnati development.

 

At its third meeting the group of about two dozen, mostly made up of residents from the county’s western townships, officially adopted the name Butler Advocates for Responsible Development.

 

Much of the discussion Tuesday night, though, centered around the group’s mission statement in an attempt to tie together concepts of urban revitalization and rural preservation.

 

“Why do you have to have suburban sprawl if we can strengthen our urban cores?” Oxford resident Jenny Gelber asked. “If we can strengthen our cities, the sprawl doesn’t have to keep getting bigger and bigger.”

 

BARD also elected officers Tuesday night. Oxford Township resident Larry Frimerman, also executive director of the Three Valley Conservation Trust and a member of the Butler County Planning Commission, was elected chairman. Morgan Township resident Arlene Rahn and Hanover Township resident John DeVore were elected to share vice chair duties. Mark Boardman of Milford Township was elected secretary.

 

The group adopted the following as its mission statement:

 

“The mission of BARD is to be the voice in Butler County for land-use planning and decision making that links urban and rural residents with farmland owners, developers, school and community leaders, and elected officials for the purpose of preserving the rural character of the county, while strengthening its urban cores.”

 

The group also adopted a four-part vision statement advocating public involvement and influence on elected and appointed bodies making land-use decisions that impact the county.

 

The vision statement also seeks to promote “responsible land development” in the county and to hold those officials accountable on issues such as rural conservation, traffic issues and the development costs of infrastructure.

 

Steve Johns of Cincinnati-based Citizens for Civic Renewal also attended the meeting to offer his group’s support. Although CCR has traditionally focused more on land-use and development issues in the more urban areas of Greater Cincinnati, Johns said it is trying to reach out to a broader area.

 

Because CCR has a similar mission to BARD, Johns said, CCR could act as a tax-exempt fiscal agent for the local group while it continues to organize. He also offered staff support wherever needed.

 

“We have in the past focused more on Hamilton County and Northern Kentucky, but we’re trying to broaden our focus,” he said. “We’ve got a board member now from Clermont County and we’re looking for people from Butler and Warren counties.

 

“At the end of the day, I see a vision where there would be a BARD in every county and we could work to support all those types of organizations with you at the grass roots.”

 

While the group continues to organize, Oxford resident Orie Loucks said, there’s also an interest in starting to take action in the form of the upcoming township trustees elections, in the ongoing effort to revise county zoning codes and in planning commission meetings.

 

“We don’t want to just be a group that sits around and has conversations,” Loucks said.

 

The group’s next meeting is tentatively scheduled for 7 p.m. on Nov. 1 at the Morgan Township building.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/10/04/HJN1005BARD_s.html

 

From the 10/9/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Ross Township housing plan set to be heard tonight

By Chris Dumond

Butler County Bureau

 

HAMILTON — A controversial Ross Township rezoning petition is scheduled to come back before Butler County’s Rural Zoning Commission tonight.

 

Although the request to rezone 115 acres of farmland in the township for a residential planned unit development to include 240 homes met with approval from the county planning commission last month, the rural zoning commission balked over concerns about flooding, erosion and traffic.

 

The commission tabled a vote on rezoning the land until developer Red Pine Properties completed studies on those matters.

 

At the last public hearing, developer Andy Temmel’s plans showed 81 condos and about 160 single-family homes on what locals know as the Brown farm, located west of the intersection of Layhigh and School roads.

 

The rezoning request has consistently drawn large crowds, with more than 100 residents attending the last commission meeting. Residents complain that local roads couldn’t handle the traffic, that the development will cause overcrowding in nearby schools and that erosion problems with Dry Run Creek — which runs through the middle of the farm — will escalate.

 

Speaking on behalf of relatives who own the property, Russell Beckner said the family not only has a right to sell and develop the land, but has a need to pay for the health care costs of the landowners.

 

While many residents object to the housing density proposed by the developer — about two homes per acre — Beckner points out that the county’s land use plan would allow as many as four homes per acre for the farm.

 

The rural zoning commission is scheduled to meet at 7 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Government Services Center at 315 High St.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/10/09/HJN1010ROSS.html

 

So much for that.  From the 10/10/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Zoning panel OKs Ross housing plan

By Chris Dumond

Butler County Bureau

 

HAMILTON — The Butler County Rural Zoning Commission voted in favor of a rezoning proposal Monday night that could allow a Ross Township farm to be developed as a housing subdivision.

 

By the end of the meeting though, neither the developer, nor residents opposed to the subdivision got everything they wanted.

 

In an attempt to address some of the concerns of the crowd of more than 100 people, zoning Commissioner Jeffrey Buddo stipulated that the developer’s plans for 75-foot wide lots for single-family homes on the property would have to be widened to 85 feet. He also said allowed water runoff rates would be reduced from a 10-year storm level to that of a two-year storm level.

 

Buddo also suggested that a 3-acre wetland the developer wanted to build at the northern end of his property on Dry Run Creek in order to mitigate flooding be increased to 5 acres.

 

Other commissioners voted unanimously to incorporate Buddo’s proposal into their approval of the developer’s petition to rezone what is now a 115-acre farm west of the intersection of School and Layhigh roads. Commissioner Robert Young was absent.

 

Over the course of four meetings — two before the county’s planning commission and two before this board — primary concerns from residents have been related to traffic, school overcrowding and flooding from Dry Run Creek, which runs through the center of the proposed development.

 

Zoning commissioners tabled a vote at their last hearing so the developer could study traffic and flooding issues.

 

At Monday’s meeting, developer Andy Temmel told the crowd that his preliminary engineering studies showed that it would be possible to build the subdivision so that water would drain onto adjacent properties at a slower rate than it does now. His early traffic counts showed a peak-hour increase of 3 percent to 4 percent over current traffic counts, Temmel said.

 

Randy Lane, who owns farmland along the creek, gave a passionate photo presentation about flooding and erosion along the creek. He showed commissioners his own efforts to keep his land from being washed away. Lane told commissioners he has put down more than 75,000 tons of concrete along his shoreline.

 

Others were skeptical of the findings from the developer’s preliminary traffic study. Eric Pottenger, a development services supervisor with the Butler County Engineer’s Office, said Temmel would be required to do more thorough traffic studies further along in the process.

 

The matter must still go before the Butler County Board of Commissioners for a hearing, although it would have to vote unanimously against the rezoning proposal for the rural zoning commission’s decision to be overturned. The matter would then be subject to a 30-day referendum period and other reviews.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

 

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/10/10/HJN1011ROSS.html

 

West Chester driving growth

Business, population in overdrive, but at the cost of congestion

 

By Jennifer Edwards

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

 

Brian Kaeppner waters the lawn outside his West Chester home in the Villages of Providence subdivision. Kaeppner says traffic congestion is bad, but the increase in business is good for the area economically.

 

WEST CHESTER AT A GLANCE

Centrally located along the Interstate 75 corridor just north of the I-75/I-275 interchange, West Chester was formed in 1826, is 35 square miles and is Ohio's third-largest township in population.

 

Over the summer, West Chester was the only township in the nation to crack a top 100 list of the best places to live in the nation from CNN/Money Magazine. The township placed 45th, largely because of its enviable demographics and proximity to major highways, hospitals and airports.

 

Between 1990 and 2000, West Chester's population growth was the fastest in the region.

 

The building boom and growing pains are resulting in busy elections this fall. Eight candidates - the most since 1989 - are vying for two trustee seats.

 

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - A 160- to 300-bed hospital. A 31-acre business and commercial park adjacent to Interstate 75. More new restaurants than one can count.

 

And when a $16 million Duke Realty building opens in November at the Centre Pointe Office Park near Union Centre Boulevard, the office park will be the ninth-largest suburban office complex in the region.

 

Despite a sagging economy, there's no slowdown in sight for the rush to develop in southeastern Butler County, particularly this community bustling with bulldozers, cranes and pavers rolling in development frenzy.

 

In the past five years, Butler County has been among the top counties in Greater Cincinnati for commercial growth, according to West Chester's economic development office.

 

Last year, Butler County ranked first in job growth in the region - mostly because of new jobs in the township and in Fairfield.

 

West Chester gained 1,372 jobs; Fairfield saw 984. Overall, Butler County added 2,909 jobs.

 

"The growth in West Chester is an economic development engine for the rest of the region," said Melissa Koehler, director of the township's economic development office.

 

The stature and growth of West Chester's business sector have been in overdrive since the 1997 completion of the Union Centre Boulevard/Interstate 75 interchange, the first new one in Southwest Ohio in more than 20 years.

 

The three I-75 interchanges in West Chester have helped drive the growth boom.

 

As Greater Cincinnati pushes north and Dayton grows to the south, West Chester is perfectly positioned to be the economic center of a metropolitan area, said Joe Hinson, president and CEO of the West Chester Chamber Alliance, who first predicted in 2002 that the next five years in southeastern Butler County would bring startling growth.

 

By 2010, Cincinnati and Dayton will be reported as a single metropolitan area, such as Dallas-Fort Worth, and will be ranked among the 10 largest markets in the nation, according to West Chester's economic development office.

 

"We may be viewed as one market in the next 10 years," Raymond Buse, spokesman for the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber, agreed. "West Chester is a great place to live and work because you can look for jobs in both markets."

 

Upside, downside

 

The 2005 development project list on the West Chester Economic Development Office's Web site tops more than 150.

 

One of the most notable: a Health Alliance hospital off Cox Road, once a two-lane country road that now is five lanes wide and has attracted retail shops, restaurants and business parks.

 

Construction will begin in May on the $200 million hospital building, which is expected to open in 2008. The hospital will open with 160 beds, but there are plans to expand to 300.

 

Another signal that West Chester equals economic vibrancy: Computer giant Dell Inc. opened a 427,000-square-foot distribution center in the Union Centre Boulevard area late last year, investing about $31 million and creating more than 800 jobs to date, with more expected.

 

With all the new businesses come residents. The township is experiencing its biggest housing boom since the mid-1990s. West Chester zoning officials expect to approve plans for about 400 new homes.

 

But there is a downside to the commercial and housing growth: clogged roads, green space evaporating into cement and potential safety hazards.

 

Brian Kaeppner grew up in West Chester and later moved to Norwood and Pleasant Ridge. Last year, he returned with his wife, Lauren, and bought a home in one of West Chester's newest subdivisions, the Villages of Providence, off Ohio 747.

 

Planning to have children, the couple chose West Chester for the excellent-rated Lakota schools and proximity to I-75.

 

And while Kaeppner appreciates all the new places to shop and eat close to home, he dreads venturing out during rush hour.

 

"From a traffic standpoint, it's going to get worse," Kaeppner, 28, said. "It's pretty bad right now. Union Centre (Boulevard) is crazy. I luckily don't have to drive up on Tylersville Road much anymore.

 

"But, having all the business is good for West Chester economically. I take the good with the bad."

 

Safety concerns

 

The Tylersville and Cox roads intersection has long been a traffic quagmire.

 

With the hospital coming, the Butler County Engineer's Office is recommending a new road off Tylersville between Cox and Kingsgate Way for ambulances to bring in patients.

 

All public access will be off Cox Road just north of Tylersville, an intersection that carries more than 60,000 vehicles a day.

 

The popularity of West Chester's first cinema, Rave Motion Pictures at the Streets of West Chester - a mix of retail shops and restaurants that soon will see condos - also brings concerns about safety.

 

Fire Chief James Detherage worries that a firetruck might not be able to squeeze through cars surrounding the cinema and nearby restaurants if an emergency occurred during peak weekend evening hours.

 

While some residents might gripe about traffic gridlock and other problems associated with rapid growth, the developments are boosting tax revenues, township leaders say.

 

Added revenue

 

In the past 10 years, commercial property values have soared more than $850 million, largely because of the impact of the 1997 Union Centre interchange and corridor, officials said.

 

Commercial properties paid more than $14 million more in property taxes in 2004 than they paid in 1994, largely due to that increase in value, Trustee Catherine Stoker said.

 

That added revenue went toward road improvements, services for residents such as police and fire, and schools, she said.

 

Another $4.6 million on top of that from business property tax revenues went into the township's tax districts set up to make payments on all the new road construction in the Union Centre Boulevard corridor, she said.

 

What kind of government?

 

West Chester is about 80 percent built. Almost 60,000 people live here today, and the population is expected to top out at 80,000 by 2020. The township, which grew by 38 percent in the last decade, is projected to surpass Hamilton - the Butler County seat - in population by 2010.

 

Three former attempts in West Chester to incorporate into a city failed, but leaders have been predicting since 2002 that it eventually will happen.

 

That would make West Chester the region's second-largest city, give the community more control over its future and increase its regional clout.

 

But Trustee George Lang says no Ohio township has ever converted into a city - and the city form of government is too bureaucratic and expensive.

 

Either lawmakers make it easier for a township to undergo the transition - or, he proposes, they form "a new hybrid form of township government."

 

He proposes West Chester remain a township with three trustees but still be able to collect an earnings tax from those who work in West Chester but live elsewhere.

 

Those who live and work here would not pay the tax, he said.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051012/NEWS01/510120354

Recent new businesses in West Chester

 

 

 

At least 153 new business projects have been announced or already opened this year for West Chester Township. Some include expansions or relocations of existing businesses:

 

1. A+ Auto Sales: the used automobile dealership opened a 1,351-square-foot sales center in April at 9253 Cincinnati-Columbus Road at West Chester Road.

 

2. All-State Insurance: the a Fortune 50 company announced in May it will open a new 1,092-square-foot office at 8833 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in Olde West Chester.

 

3. Appearance Plus Cleaners: the provider of world-class retail and commercial dry cleaning services opened a 6,000-square-foot facility at 5647 Union Centre Drive in Duke's World Park at Union Centre.

 

4. Affiliates in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery: opened a 3,306-square-foot medical office at 7795 University Court in the University Pointe Medical Campus on Cox Road.

 

5. All That Jazz: the dance studio for ages three to adult relocated its existing West Chester business this summer to a 5,900-square-foot facility at 8810 Beckett Road.

 

6. Associated Materials, Inc: the leading manufacturer of professionally installed exterior building products leased a 54,180-square-foot facility in January at 9209 Meridian Way in Duke's World Park at Union Centre.

 

7. Audio Sensations: the car and home audio systems specialty leased a 5,400-square-foot facility at 8461 Cincinnati-Columbus Road north of Cox Road and opened in April.

 

8. BeautyFirst: the salon with unique beauty products announced in May 2005 it will open a 3,300-square-foot facility on Voice of America Centre Drive in the VOA Shopping Centre at Cox and Tylersville roads.

 

9. Beckett Towne Center/Building II and III: Earlier this year, Ohio Bancorp announced two new buildings designated for small offices and medical offices. The total, 100,000-square-foot, 14-acre development is located on the east side of Princeton-Glendale Road just north of Union Centre Boulevard.

 

10. Bee Driving School: driver education course provider throughout Butler County leased a 312-square-foot office facility in February at 8050 Beckett Center Drive in the CMC Beckett Office Park. This is Bee Driving School's fourth area location.

 

11. Bluegreen Vacation Club: the provider of leisure products, services and vacation ownership systems announced in May it will lease a 624-square-foot office facility at 8080 Beckett Center Drive in CMC Beckett Office Park off Princeton-Glendale Road.

 

12. Bonefish Grill: the upscale seafood restaurant opened earlier this year at 7710 Voice of America Centre Drive.

 

13. Brandi Corp: the Northern Kentucky developer announced in January it will build a 5,000-square-foot retail center at 8621 North Pavilion Drive just south of Union Centre Boulevard. The retail establishment will front Ohio 747.

 

14. Brooke's Bridal: the full-service bridal and special occasion salon announced in July it will open a 2,300-sq.ft. store at 7657 Voice of America Centre Drive in the VOA Shopping Centre.

 

15. BT Graphics: the graphic design firm announced in February it will relocate its existing West Chester business to a new 1,450-square-foot location at 6939 Tylersville Road at Cincinnati-Dayton Road west of Interstate 75.

 

16. Bunnell Electric: the residential and commercial electrical contractors opened a 2,000-square-foot facility at 9966 Cincinnati-Dayton Road north of Gano Road in May 2005.

 

17. Byron Products: the worldwide supplier of fully integrated metallurgical products for the manufacturing industry opened a 28,232-square-foot facility at 9615 Interocean Drive off Muhlhauser Road in April.

 

18. Capital Wholesale Improvements: the construction remodeling service company has opened a 165-square-foot office facility at 8050 Beckett Center Drive in the CMC Beckett Office park.

 

19. Caribou Coffee: the 2nd largest U.S. specialty coffee company recently opened a 1,300-square-foot store at 7755 Cox Lane in the Tylersville Corner retail center.

 

20. CarSan Distributors: the fulfillment and distribution center for in-store marketing event materials is adding 1,100-square-feet to its existing facility at 4436 Muhlhauser Road in First Industrial's NorthPark Business Center.

 

21. Carvel: the ice cream, bakery and café leased a 1,229-square-foot facility at 8177 Princeton-Glendale Road in West Chester Village Retail Center.

 

22. Catalyst: the product development group recently opened a 312-square-foot office facility at 8080 Beckett Center Drive in CMC Beckett Office Park off Ohio 747.

 

23. CBI Leasing Inc: the a wholly owned subsidiary of Commerce Bank that specializes in leasing commercial equipment moved its existing West Chester business to a 4,778-square-foot office at 9100 Centre Pointe Drive in Duke Realty's Centre Pointe Office.

 

24. Centre Pointe Office Park IV: the $16 million Duke Realty building at 9025 Centre Pointe Drive will be available in November at the Centre Pointe Office Park off Muhlhauser Road near Union Centre Road. When this 134,628-square-foot building opens, the office park will be the 9th largest suburban office complex in the region. Duke Realty is the largest publicly traded office and industrial real estate company in the U.S.

 

25. Champion Land Title Agency: leased a 312-square-foot office facility at 8080 Beckett Center Drive in CMC Beckett Office Park off Princeton-Glendale Road.

 

26. CiCi's Pizza: the restaurant famous for its all-you-can-eat pizza buffet opened a 4,086 location earlier this year at 7645 Voice of America Centre Drive in the VOA Shopping Centre.

 

27. Cintas: the designer and manufacturer of corporate identity uniform programs announced in March a 43,490-square-foot expansion to its existing facility at 690 Crescentville Road east of Ohio 747.

 

28. City Barbeque: the upscale barbeque restaurant recently opened a 4,562-square-foot location at 7706 Voice of America Centre Drive in the VOA Shopping Centre.

 

29. Community Blood Center: now open at 8731 Union Centre Boulevard in the Chappell Crossing Development at Lakota Drive West.

 

30. Contech Construction Products: the privately owned civil engineering company announced in June it will relocate its corporate headquarters to West Chester in November. The 72,000-square-foot office will take up two stories of Duke Realty's Centre Point Office Park Building IV.

 

31. Contours Express: the fitness and weight loss studio announced in March it will open a new 1,856-square-foot facility at 4879 Smith Road west of Ohio 747.

 

32. Cruise Holidays: North America's largest cruise travel franchise recently opened a 1,242-square-foot retail facility at 7747 Cox Lane in the Tylersville Corner retail center.

 

33. D & D Power Sports: the off-road, motorcycle and four wheeler seller opened a new retail facility in June at 8939 Cincinnati-Columbus Road.

 

34. DIT Health Care Distribution: the pharmaceutical distribution company moves this month to a 15,026-sq.ft. facility at 4884 Duff Drive off Ohio 747.

 

35. Don Pablo's Restaurant: recently opened at 9229 Floer Dr., in Schumacher Dugan Construction's Union Centre Retail Plaza off Union Centre Boulevard west of the I-75 interchange.

 

36. Dream Dinners: the meal assembly store opened a 1,233-square-foot facility at 7743 Cox Lane in the Tylersville Corner retail center.

 

37. E-Technologies Group: the engineering and information technology services provider announced in June it will lease a 5,436-square-foot office facility at 6230 Muhlhauser Road near Union Centre Boulevard in the new 30,000-square-foot Huff Realty retail/office building under construction. The new location should open in early November.

 

38. Executive Dry Cleaners: opened a new facility at 8880 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in Olde West Chester next to Nyla's Flowers in June.

 

39. Executive Search, Ltd: the executive search and placement specialist announced in March it will relocate its existing West Chester business to a 2,994-square-foot facility at 8374 Princeton-Glendale Road in the new Beckett Towne Center development just north of Union Centre Boulevard.

 

40. Explosion Fitness Solutions: the fitness accelerator center specializing in personal training and sport enhancements announced in July it will open a 2,376-sq.ft. facility at 4934 Wunnenberg Way in the Beckett Building at Union Centre off Ohio 747.

 

41. Federated Insurance: leased a 150-square-foot office facility at 8050 Beckett Center Drive in the CMC Beckett Office Park.

 

42. First Industrial: adding 1,100-square-foot office space onto its existing 180,000-square-foot distribution/warehouse facility at 4436 Muhlhauser Road in North Park Business Center V just west of Ohio 747.

 

43. Flavor Systems International: the custom creator of food and beverage flavorings is undergoing a 26,810-square-foot expansion at its existing facility at 10139 Commerce Park Drive in Schumacher Commerce Park off Allen Road.

 

44. Folchi's Formal Wear: recently announced it will open a 1,300-square-foot retail facility on Voice of America Centre Drive in VOA Shopping Centre.

 

45. Foot Solutions: the company that offers fitting systems utilizing computerized foot mapping technology and specialized foot products announced in July it will open a 1,600-sq.ft. facility at 7586 Voice of America Centre Drive in the VOA Shopping Centre.

 

46. Gallimore Sheet Metal Works: announced in June it will open a 1,500-square-foot facility at 9029 Innovation Drive off Port Union Road.

 

47. Gear Florist & Garden Center: the family-owned and operated garden center announced in January it will build a new 3,465-square-foot greenhouse facility onto its existing West Chester business at 7400 Tylersville Road just west of Interstate 75.

 

48. Grainger: the leading broad line supplier of facilities maintenance products leased a 63,337-square-foot distribution/warehouse facility at 8700 LeSaint Drive in Industrial Developments International's Port Union at Union Centre business park.

 

49. Greg Wilson Insurance Agency: announced in May it will lease a 1,160-square-foot facility at 8264 Ohio 747 at Smith Road in Beckett Square.

 

50. Guardian Protection Service: the company that specializes in sales, installation and monitoring residential and commercial security systems announced in June it will lease a 5,000-square-foot facility at 9852 Windisch Road in RGW Development's Union Commerce Centre off Allen Road.

 

51. Gutter Genie: the complete leaf and debris shedding systems business is undergoing a 4,000-square-foot office/warehouse expansion to its existing facility at 9782 Windisch Road in RGW Development's Union Commerce Center.

 

52. Hampton Inn: recently opened at 9266 Schulze Drive off Muhlhauser Road in the Union Centre Boulevard district.

 

53. Harmon Inc: the design, engineering, fabrication, installation and renovation of exterior cladding systems company in June announced it leased a 78,000-square-foot facility at 9111 Meridian Way in Duke's World Park at Union Centre.

 

54. Harris Battery Company: the independent battery distributor leased a 4,280-square-foot warehouse/distribution facility at 9038 Sutton Place off Ohio 747.

 

55. H.C. Stark: the engineered material solutions provider leased a 312-square-foot office facility at 8050 Beckett Center Drive in CMC Beckett Office Park off Ohio 747.

 

56. The Health Alliance: the conglomeration of Tri-State hospitals and physicians, leased a 3,980-square-foot medical office facility at North Ridge Realty Group's building at 5900 West Chester Road east of Union Centre Boulevard.

 

In August, the Health Alliance announced a 370,000 square-foot community hospital would rise on 29 acres at UC Physicians' University Pointe medical campus on Cox Road. The 160-to 300-bed hospital will offer a wide array of surgical, outpatient and imaging services and contain a full-service emergency department staffed 24 hours a day.

 

57. Help-U-Self Real Estate: the franchised real estate firm announced in May it will lease a 1,033-square-foot facility in the Tylersville Corner retail center.

 

58. HomeGate Mortgage: announced in July it will expand its corporate headquarters at 9100 Centre Pointe Dive in Duke Realty's Centre Pointe Office Park. The company's offices will increase to 5,300-sq.ft. after the 2,200-square-foot expansion.

 

59. Homemade Express: announced in March it will open a new, 2,526-square-foot facility at 9405 Cincinnati-Columbus Road/U.S. 42 south of West Chester Road.

 

60. Hughes Supply Inc: the diversified whole sale distributor of building and construction materials leased a 4,820 square-foot warehouse at 9283 Sutton Place off Ohio 747.

 

61. Interior Supply, Inc: the commercial Armstrong ceiling tile representative announced in February it will relocate to a new 30,050-square-foot facility at 222 Circle Freeway Drive off Crescentville Road.

 

62. International House of Pancakes (IHOP): the national restaurant chain announced in April it will build a new 4,954 square-foot location at 7748 Cox road on the west side of Cox between Walgreens and BancOne.

 

63. Inter-Tel Technologies Cincinnati: the data and telecommunication consulting company leased a 9,510 square-foot Inter-Tel Technologies Cincinnati, data and telecommunication consultants for over 2,300 Tri-State companies, leased a 9,510-square-foot facility at 9367 Allen Road in Duke's World Park at Union Centre.

 

64. Jag's Steak & Seafood: the eatery known for its expensive Kobe beef steak and live weekend music recently completed a 1,900-square-foot expansion to its existing piano bar at 5980 West Chester Road between Union Centre Boulevard and Muhlhauser Road.

 

65. Jazzercise Lite: new location at 8930 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in Olde West Chester.

 

66. Johnny Carinos: the full-service country Italian restaurant recently opened at 7691 Voice of America Centre Drive in the VOA Shopping Centre at Cox and Tylersville roads.

 

67. KAO Brands Company (formerly The Andrew Jergens Company): the Cincinnati-based manufacturer of health and beauty products, announced in July it will relocate to a 351,000-square-foot distribution facility on LeSaint Drive in Port Union at Union Centre industrial park off Union Centre Boulevard.

 

68. Kast-A-Way Swimwear: announced a 3,900-sq.ft. expansion in July to its existing corporate headquarters at 9356 Cincinnati-Columbus Road south of Cox Road.

 

69. Kemba Credit Union: announced in May it will build a new four-story, 32,000-square-foot office building in the Chappell Crossing development on Union Centre Boulevard. The building will house Kemba's 7th full-service branch, featuring multiple drive-up teller windows and ATM, and offering office space for lease.

 

70. Kidd Coffee: leased a 1,128-sq.ft. facility with drive-up service in July at 9120 Union Centre Boulevard in the First Financial Bank Building.

 

71. Kin Products: the designer and manufacturer of custom and stock displays and fixtures for retailers opened a 110,207-square-foot facility at 6386 Gano Road off Cincinnati-Dayton Road in Schumacher Commerce Park.

 

72. Kirkland's: the home decor and accessory business announced in May it will open a new 5,000-square-foot retail facility on Voice of America Centre Drive in the VOA Shopping Centre.

 

73. Lakota Hills Animal Clinic: announced in July it will open a new 5,740-sq.ft. clinic at 5130 Tylersville Road south of Cincinnati-Dayton Road.

 

74. Lasik Vision Institute: announced in June it will open a new 4,320-square-foot facility at 7625 Voice of America Centre Drive at VOA Shopping Centre.

 

75. Little John, Inc: the tank trailer part warehousing and distribution facility leased a 5,450-square-foot space at 9080 Gold Park Drive off Port Union Road.

 

76. Lunt Associates: the market research consultant announced in May it opened a 312-square-foot office facility at 8050 Beckett Center Drive in CMC Beckett Office Park off Ohio 747.

 

77. M2R Technology Group: the computer consultant for businesses plans to relocate to 8285 Ventle Drive off Cox Road.

 

78. Management Plus Realty Service: the management company for homeowners association leased a 4,853-square-foot facility at 9912 Windisch Road.

 

79. Martinizing Dry Cleaning: recently opened a 1,937-square-foot family-owned facility at 8179 Princeton-Glendale Road in Elford Development's West Chester Village Retail Center.

 

80. Mathnasium: the after-school learning center for grades 2-12 to boost math skills announced in July it plans to open a 1,540-sq.ft. retail facility at 7588 Voice of America Centre Drive in VOA Shopping Centre.

 

81. Mattress Firm: the retailer announced in February it will open a new 5,485-square-foot store at 7669 Voice of America Centre Drive

 

82. Mediterranean Maza Bar: recently opened a 2,336-square-foot restaurant at 9104 Cox Road.

 

83. Mercedes-Benz:: opened a dealership in June at 5897 Muhlhauser Road in the Union Centre Boulevard district.

 

84. Mid-City Pediatrics: leased a 3,748-square-foot medical office facility at 7777 University Drive in the University Pointe Medical Office Campus.

 

85. Mike's Express Carwash: opening a 7,000-square-foot facility on Cincinnati-Dayton Road in the Highlands development anchored by Wal-Mart SuperCenter. Neyer Properties, Inc., of Evendale is developing this 75-acre, mixed-use retail development on the west side of Cincinnati-Dayton at I-75.

 

86. Multi-Source, Inc: the customized warehousing and inventory company leased a 6,200-square-foot facility in January at 4816 Peter Place off Princeton-Glendale Road just south of Muhlhauser Road.

 

87. National City Bank: now open at 8671 North Pavilion Drive in the Union Centre Pavilion shopping center anchored by bigg's.

 

88. National Termite & Pest Control: announced in July it will open a 1,842-sq.ft. facility at 9585 Cincinnati-Columbus Road south of Cox Road.

 

89. Nextel by Digital Plus: recently opened a 1,211-square-foot facility at 8621 North Pavilion Drive in Brandi Corp's new 5,000-square-foot retail center just south of Union Centre Boulevard in front of bigg's shopping center.

 

90. NuWaves Engineering: expanding its existing West Chester business to a 1,540-square-foot office at 8100 Beckett Center Drive in the CMC Beckett Office Park.

 

91. Nvogue Medi-Spa: recently opened at 9443 Civic Centre Drive in the Streets of West Chester off Union Centre Boulevard.

 

92. Ohio Valley Orthopedics: leased a 6,745-square-foot medical office and physical therapy facility at 4896 Wunnenberg Way off Union Centre Boulevard.

 

93. One Hour Martinizing: leased a 1,855-square-foot facility in March at 8179 Princeton-Glendale/747 in the West Chester Village Retail Center.

 

94. Original Pancake House: opened in June at 9403 Civic Centre Boulevard in the Streets of West Chester development off Union Centre Boulevard.

 

95. Orthopaedic Sports Medicine: leased an 8,688-square-foot medical office at 7798 University Court in the University Pointe Medical Campus off Cox Road.

 

96. Paint & Play: opening a 2,100-sq.ft. facility in December 2005 on Voice of America Centre Drive in Midland's VOA Shopping Centre.

 

97. Park National Bank: now open at 8366 Princeton-Glendale Road/SR 747 in Beckett Towne Center just north of Union Centre Boulevard.

 

98. Performance Benefit Solutions: the full-service insurance agency announced in March it would expand its existing West Chester business to a 1,613-square-foot office facility at 9685 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in Schumacher Commerce Park, Building 7.

 

99. Phyllis at the Madison: the full-service salon and spa announced in February it would open a new, 7,160-square-foot salon at 9326 Union Centre Boulevard in West Chester Towne Centre.

 

100. Pitts Catering: leased a 312-square-foot office facility in January at 8080 Beckett Center Drive in CMC Beckett Office Park off Princeton-Glendale Road.

 

101. Port Union @ Union Centre/Building E: announced in January 2005 by Industrial Developments International (IDI). Building E, being built on 8.73 acres, is the fourth warehouse/distribution building in Port Union at Union Centre.

 

This 136,000-square-foot building will be located at the southwest corner of Union Centre Boulevard and LeSaint Drive in this 192-acre business park development. IDI is a full-service real estate developer based in Atlanta providing strategically located properties throughout the U.S. to best meet tenants' distribution, warehouse and light manufacturing needs. Upon completion, Port Union @ Union Centre will be the 12th largest industrial park in the Tri-State.

 

102. Port Union Port Union at Union Centre/Building F: the new 697,500-square-foot building at 8778 LeSaint Drive, was announced in June by Industrial Developments International. Building F, on 35.92 acres, is the fifth distribution building in the 192-acre development off Union Centre Boulevard west of Princeton-Glendale Road/SR 747. This building is already 50 percent pre-leased.

 

103. Prather, Dr., DDS: opened a 2,764-square-foot dental office in April at 7382 Kingsgate Way off Tylersville Road.

 

104. ProClocks, Inc: the antique and collectable clock dealer announced in June it opened a 3,200-square-foot facility at 8611 Cincinnati-Columbus Road north of Cox Road.

 

105. Pump-It-Up Management, LLC: leased a 12,800-square-foot facility in March at 7724 Service Center Drive in Miller Valentine's Beacon Pointe.

 

106. Quality Construction Management: leased a 1,636-square-foot office in July at 8878 Brookside Avenue in Olde West Chester.

 

107. Quality Custom Framing: leased a 465-square-foot facility in May at 8050 Beckett Center Drive in CMC Beckett Office Park off Ohio 747.

 

108. Qualex, Inc: the chemistry, machinery and service suppliers for one-hour photo development processors leased a 4,853-square-foot facility in February at 9908 Windisch Road in RGW Development's Union Commerce Center.

 

109. Quiznos: leased a 1,603-square-foot retail facility at 7671 Voice of America Centre Drive.

 

110. Rest Your Back Bedding: opening a new 2,182-square-foot retail facility at 6068 West Chester Road in the West Chester Billiards Centre development.

 

111. Rite Track Equipment Services: the suppliers of track systems for the semiconductor thin film head, solar cell and MEMS industry announced in March a 28,000-square-foot expansion to its existing West Chester facility at 8655 Rite Track Way off Union Centre Boulevard. The expansion will double the size of the existing facility and create 30 new jobs.

 

112. RL Industries: the fiber and dual laminate equipment manufacturer announced a 1,200-square-foot expansion in February to its existing West Chester facility at 9355 LeSaint Drive.

 

113. Rolled Alloys: the international heat and corrosion resistant and aerospace alloy specialist announced in July it will expand its existing warehouse and processing center by 50 percent to a 36,000-square-foot facility at 9944 Princeton-Glendale Road.

 

114. Ryan Homes: the local headquarters for Butler and Warren county home sales and construction announced a 1,181-square-foot expansion in February to its existing West Chester office facility at 8922 Beckett Road.

 

115. Sacan Family Martial Arts: leased a 1,607-square-foot facility at 9219 Cincinnati-Columbus and Cox roads.

 

116. Salsaritas Fresh Cantina: the Mexican restaurant recently opened at 9344 Union Centre Boulevard in the US Bank Centre Building.

 

117. Sally Beauty Supply: the world's largest distributor of professional beauty supplies recently opened a 1,556-square-foot retail facility at 7600 Voice of America Centre Drive in the VOA Shopping Centre at Cox and Tylersville roads.

 

118. Scholastic Book Fairs: the global children's publishing and media company relocated its existing West Chester business into 123,319-square-feet at 5459 West Chester Road in Duke's World Park at Union Centre.

 

119. Scott Street Partners: purchased 27.8 acres in July at Civic Center Boulevard and Allen Road. Located at the southeast quadrant of Interstate 75 and Union Centre Boulevard south of the Streets of West Chester, the site was bought for future development. The sale represents a $6M investment in West Chester.

 

120. Shared Resources Technology: the software developed announced in April it would open a 2,779-square-foot facility at 8366 Princeton-Glendale Road.

 

121. Shepherd Color Company: the family-owned, international business that produces complex inorganic color pigments announced a 44,385-square-foot expansion in June to its existing facility at 4335 Dues Drive.

 

122. Shoppes at Rialto Place: the 30,000-square-foot retail development to open in December is being developed at 9300 Princeton-Glendale Road.

 

123. Siegel Design Center: the one-stop home remodeling center and showroom announced in February it will open a new 1,507-square-foot center at 8104 Beckett Center Drive in CMC Beckett Office Park.

 

124. Soho Japanese Bistro: leased a 7,721-square-foot facility in March at 7655 Voice of America Centre Drive in the VOA Shopping Centre.

 

125. Sports Clips: opened their second West Chester location, a 1,518-square-foot salon, at 8200 Princeton-Glendale Road in the Beckett Commons shopping center at Smith Road.

 

126. SPS Packaging: purchased a 206,448-square-foot facility on 15 acres at 4275 Thunderbird Lane.

 

127. Star One Realtors: expanding its existing office at 6875 Fountains Boulevard.

 

128. State Farm Insurance: leased a 1,365-square-foot office facility at 9225 Floer Drive in Schumacher Dugan's Union Centre Retail Plaza.

 

129. Stephenson & Warner: the certified public accountant firm leased a 1,766-square-foot office facility at 9210 Union Centre Boulevard in the First Financial Retail Banking Center.

 

130. Student Lending Works/Kohne O'Neill LLC: the student lending operation that provides reduced-rate student loans to Ohio residents and students attending Ohio colleges and universities leased a 5,000-square-foot facility at 9898 Windisch Road in February.

 

131. T-Mobile: opened a 1,600-square-foot facility at 8179 Princeton-Glendale Road. 132. Talbert House: In partnership with Butler County Children's Services, the residential and assessment center recently opened at 9018 Cincinnati-Columbus Road.

 

133. Tender Hearts: opening a 3,200 square-foot facility at 8633 Cincinnati-Columbus Road. 134. Thornton's, Inc: the convenience store and gasoline marketer plans to open a location at 7301 Kingsgate Way off Tylersville Road.

 

135. Timely Tax Service: opening a 465-square-foot office facility at 7237 Cincinnati-Dayton Road west of Interstate I-75.

 

136. Title Works of Ohio: the land title agency announced in July it would more than double its current West Chester office when it relocates to a 1,650-sq.ft. space at 8240 Beckett Park Drive.

 

137. Trek Bicycle Store: opening a 5,500-square-foot store at 7594 Voice of America Centre Drive in the VOA shopping center.

 

138. Two Men and A Truck: the residential and commercial moving service leased a 1,767-square-foot facility in March at 7743 Tylersville Road.

 

139. Variety Communications: the cellular phone retailer leased a 1,233-square-foot retail store on Cox Lane in Tylersville Corner retail center.

 

140. Victory Bakery at Dimmick Plaza: announced in July it leased a 1,160-square foot shop at 9536 Cincinnati-Columbus Road at Dimmick Road.

 

141. Vietnam Cuisine: leased a 1,560-square-foot restaurant in July at 46 East Crescentville Road off Ohio 747.

 

142. Village Indian/Pakistani Restaurant: opened a 2,243-square-foot facility at 7745 Tylersville Road.

 

143. Wal-Mart SuperCenter: opened its 203,982-sq.ft. store on August 24th at 8288 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in Neyer Properties "Highlands" development on the northwest side of Interstate 75.

 

144. Welling Jewelers: moved its West Chester business to a 1,868-square-foot store at 7712 Voice of America Centre Drive in the VOA Shopping Centre.

 

145. Wellington Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine: open at 8737 Union Centre Boulevard.

 

146. Wendy's: opening a 5,000 square-foot restaurant at 8234 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in the Highlands development.

 

147. West Chester Psychological Wellness, LLC: recently opened a 312-square-foot officeat 8050 Beckett Center Drive in CMC Beckett Office Park.

 

148. West Chester Station: the 13,000 square-foot office/retail development was announced in June and will be located at 8565 Cincinnati-Dayton Road just east of the I-75 interchange. Construction is expected to begin this fall.

 

149. We're Rolling Pretzel Company: opened a 447-square-foot facility in the Wal-Mart SuperCenter.

 

150. World Park at Union Centre/Building 7: the industrial/warehouse projected from Duke Realty was announced in February. The 275,000 square-foot building will rise at 5459 West Chester Road on the southeast corner of West Chester and Rialto roads in the World Park at Union Centre industrial park. The facility is already 50 percent leased as of March and opened for occupancy over the summer.

 

151. World Park at Union Centre Building 10: the 414,460-square-foot speculative industrial building broke ground in mid-August. It will be available in February 2006. The 18-acre site is on Meridan Way in Duke's World Park at Union Centre. Project investment is $12 million.

 

152. Xcel Sports: the multi-sport training company offering personal and group training opened a 32,000-square-foot sports facility at 5992 Allen Road off Muhlhauser Road.

 

153. Yarns & Fabrications: opening a 4,150 square-foot store at 7967 Cincinnati-Dayton Road west of I-75.

 

Source: West Chester Economic Development Office.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051012/NEWS01/510120301

A few observations from the article above....

 

And when a $16 million Duke Realty building opens in November at the Centre Pointe Office Park near Union Centre Boulevard, the office park will be the ninth-largest suburban office complex in the region.

 

9th Place is not that big a deal, especially in a midsize market such as Cincinnati

 

 

 

Over the summer, West Chester was the only township in the nation to crack a top 100 list of the best places to live in the nation from CNN/Money Magazine. The township placed 45th, largely because of its enviable demographics and proximity to major highways, hospitals and airports.

 

What airports is it convenient to?  CVG and Dayton Int'l are at least a 45 minute drive. 

By 2010, Cincinnati and Dayton will be reported as a single metropolitan area, such as Dallas-Fort Worth, and will be ranked among the 10 largest markets in the nation, according to West Chester's economic development office.

 

 

At least this thing is privately funded, maybe it won't get the backlash the Lindner thing did or go the way of the rec center.

 

 

Convention hall proposed for West Chester Township

 

By Jennifer Edwards

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

 

Artist rendering

 

 

The proposed meeting center a developer wants to build in West Chester Township. It would have 35,000 square feet, and be available for meetings and receptions.

 

 

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Even as Cincinnati nears completion of a $160 million convention center expansion, this community may get a $10 million meeting center of its own.

 

Charlie Chappell, president of Chappco Inc., said his company wants to build an $8 million to $10 million center that would hold 1,000 people and rise on about 10 vacant acres off a new road off Union Centre Boulevard. The land, across from the new West Chester Baseball Complex near Lakota West Drive, is owned by Chappell.

 

Chappell envisions a privately owned, 35,000-square-foot building that would be available for business meetings, political gatherings, wedding receptions and other events. About $4 million has been committed so far.

 

He already has a name picked out: "Savana Centre at Chappell Lake."

 

Construction could start as soon as this spring.

 

"You name me one place in Butler County that can hold 1,000 people," Chappell said. "It's time (for a convention center), but we haven't got it all signed, sealed and delivered yet.

 

"We have the money to do it, but we need a business plan," he said.

 

"It has to make a profit. If it doesn't make a profit, we won't do it. We have a location and conceptual drawings."

 

The center would have its own design, but would resemble in part the Manor House in Mason or the Sharonville Convention Center.

 

Business leaders predict a West Chester convention center would be a popular, regional draw.

 

Area businesses would book a convention center solid, said Joe Hinson, president and chief executive officer of the West Chester Chamber Alliance.

 

"Not only area businesses, but regional businesses because of our location," he noted. "Its time has come and it's something we surely feel could be a win."

 

Hinson says nearby hotels could support a small meeting center and vice versa.

 

West Chester has undergone a population and business boom since the early 1990s - but lacks a large gathering spot that can hold 1,000 or more people.

 

Four hotels already have been built in the Union Centre Boulevard area, and at least two more are planned, said Chris Wunnenberg, director of development at Schumacher Dugan Construction Inc., the developer of the Union Centre area.

 

In all, Union Centre has about 550 hotel rooms. The new hotels would bring that number to 750, Wunnenberg said. "Would (a convention center) be busy? Absolutely," said Wunnenberg.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051016/NEWS01/510160379/1056

Sure.  Why the hell not?  Next they'll be building a stadium to lure the Bengals.

Not really in Liberty Twp., but fueled by it.  From the 10/17/05 Cincinnati Business Courier:

 

 

Indian Springs plaza gets Kohl's

Department store signs as an anchor for expanding center in Fairfield Twp.

Lisa Biank Fasig

Staff Reporter

 

Kohl's, the chain that combines department store merchandise with discount prices and floor plans, has agreed to anchor Indian Springs Center, a Fairfield Township plaza undergoing a $20 million expansion.

 

The store, to open in late 2006, will join Office Depot and a prototype HH Gregg appliance store, as well as an existing Wal-Mart, which is transforming into a supercenter and will reopen by Christmas.

 

HH Gregg replaces a Jo-Anne Fabrics, which was to open a superstore in the location, but has since pulled back on its plans.

 

This 140,000-square-foot project being developed by Florida-based Regency Centers, is an indication of the area's growing viability for retailers, thanks in particular to the housing boom of neighboring Liberty Township. The expansion of Indian Springs follows the opening of nearby Bridgewater Falls.

 

"Before Bridgewater Falls was there, some (executives) from Target flew into Butler (County) airport and they couldn't believe all the houses and the lack of retail," said Fairfield Township Administrator Michael Rahall. "That's what started Bridgewater going. The prediction is that Liberty will be bigger than West Chester in three years."

 

From 1990 to 2005, Liberty Township's population has grown to an estimated 32,000 from 9,000, with a median household income of more than $75,000, according to the township's Web site.

 

Fairfield Township's population, meanwhile, has expanded to 20,000, from 9,000.

 

The average household income within a five-mile radius of Indian Springs Center, at Bypass 4 and the Butler County Regional Highway, is almost $55,000, according to Regency's data.

 

Regency acquired the center in 2000 after being attracted to the fast-growing, but underserved, market.

 

"There was nothing there," said David Birdsall, vice president of investments at Regency. "(Shoppers) were going out to Tylersville on I-75 or they were going to Tri-County."

 

Indian Springs also has space for one restaurant, and Regency is in discussions with a fast-casual concept, Birdsall said.

 

© 2005 American City Business Journals Inc.

 

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2005/10/17/story6.html?from_rss=1

 

Well development will continue, but Liberty surpassing West Chester, I hope not.  Liberty is nice, but I don't think the area can handle growth like that, the transportation is very poor and all roads are built to rural standards.  But until Cincinnati starts attracting people again, these outer burbs will continue to grow because large homes can be purchased for less than in the city and because Lakota is an excellent school district, levy or not.(As a 2005 grad of East, I can you the district is doing fine with the money it has)

From the 10/20/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

County, state battling over TID funds

 

HAMILTON — Winning state approval of county Commissioner Michael Fox’s proposal to generate $17.5 million for pending state highway projects could be an uphill battle — at least that’s the message the state transportation director sent in a letter this week.

 

Fox’s proposal, which was sent to the state Office of Budget and Management Sept. 28, is for the Butler County Transportation Improvement District to refinance the outstanding $93 million debt of the Ohio 129 project as interest rates are expected to rise and take out the $13.6 million in the reserve fund.

 

The cash in reserves would be replaced with a $340,000 surety bond as insurance for the last payment on the debt. Then the TID could use the anticipated $4.3 million in savings and reserve funds to accelerate construction on the Ohio Bypass 4 widening, the Ohio 63 extension or the Oxford connector. Fox’s fellow commissioners gave their support for the proposal Sept. 29.

 

Ohio Department of Transportation Director Gordon Proctor agreed refinancing the debt as soon as possible was a good idea, but it would be savings ODOT would keep, along with the reserve fund.

 

“ODOT would like to refinance the bonds and capture the savings through the lease, since ODOT is making all the bond payments,” Proctor wrote in letter TID Director John Fonner received Wednesday. “If the TID is going to prevent that refinancing, then the opportunity to save for the taxpayer is lost.”

 

Fox said Proctor may position the TID as the “bad guy,” but ODOT’s reluctance to refinance the debt years ago has already cost taxpayers about $2 million.

 

“For about four years they’ve been opposed to it and opposed it when the savings would have been $6 million,” Fox said. “Now they are for it and that’s good news. We want the money for local projects and they want to use it someplace else. I can’t think of any reason why they wouldn’t want to allocate those savings to three job-generating projects in Butler County as opposed to someplace else.”

 

New language in the federal highway transportation bill, passed in July, gives states the authority to refinance debt from local road projects. However, the state’s strategy to align Ohio Revised Code with the federal law “apparently was not successful” in allowing ODOT to act unilaterally without the local TID’s approval, Fonner wrote back to Proctor Thursday.

 

Proctor also rejected the idea of releasing the $13.6 million reserve fund as “not plausible” because it was intended to make the last payment on the debt.

 

Andrew Gall, ODOT chief of staff, said if ODOT released the reserves, it would still need to find funding to make the last payment on about $250 million in debt that the state will eventually pay for the project.

 

“ODOT is actually paying the debt service on these bonds. If we refinance, it’s not creating additional revenue its just less money we are paying in the long run,” Gall said. “Every penny that we save we need to roll that back into our major new construction program.”

 

Fox said completing the Ohio Bypass 4 widening project earlier at lower construction costs with 12 percent more in local contribution to the project could be worth ODOT’s investment of the reserves. However, he concedes ODOT has reason to protect the debt reserve.

 

“That will be the most difficult issue to reach common ground on,” Fox said. “If (they) don’t want to open up the issue of the reserve fund, we are not going to fight about this.”

 

In his letter, Fonner suggested the parties meet soon in Columbus to discuss how they can reach an mutual solution.

 

Contact Candice Brooks at (513) 820-2175, or e-mail her at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/10/20/hjn1021TIDrefinance_s.html

 

Liberty seeks earning tax

Move would affect workers in development district

 

By Jennifer Edwards

Enquirer staff writer

 

LIBERTY TWP. - People who work in this Butler County township might soon pay an earnings tax to help fund construction of a new highway exit and other road improvements.

 

Liberty Township leaders said Monday they hope to establish a special tax district as early as next year - but it means most workers in the district would see a 1.5 percent earnings tax taken from their paychecks.

 

Liberty leaders have been working since at least 2002 to form a joint economic development district, or JEDD, to help raise money for an eastward interchange off Ohio 129 at Interstate 75 and other secondary road improvements.

 

The proposed $35 million to $40 million exit, which also means Cox Road will be extended north to Ohio 63 in Monroe, is needed to attract more businesses to offset demand on residential taxes, leaders say. Liberty's population stands at 33,000 and is projected to rocket to more than 80,000 over the next several years.

 

"It's all part of balancing our growth as a community," Trustee President Christine Matacic said. "If you don't have the infrastructure you are not going to attract businesses ... the finances of this whole thing will help our residents."

 

The JEDD is composed of 958 acres zoned for commercial development, scattered throughout the township.

 

Lakota School District, the largest employer in the township, is exempt from the taxing district.

 

The school district was not included because township officials feared there would be too much opposition to the deal if Lakota's workers were included, Matacic said.

 

Most of the land in the district, 90 percent, is undeveloped, township officials say.

 

There are two ways to form a JEDD and impose the earnings tax: voluntarily with 51 percent of the property owners and businesses agreeing to it, or a public vote.

 

Liberty officials say they want the approval of the majority of the 122 property owners and 115 businesses involved because it's the least challengeable and it's their businesses that are affected.

 

But the township cannot seek that until trustees take an official vote on the project and draft an agreement for the property owners to sign.

 

So far, the township has several letters of intent from large property owners agreeing to the deal, Matacic said.

 

Because townships cannot impose earnings taxes, they must partner with neighboring cities to form JEDDs. Liberty is working with Middletown and Mason. Middletown will serve as administrator of the JEDD by collecting the earnings tax and distributing it among all three entities, with most going to Liberty, officials said.

 

Mason got involved because the new exit would flood its streets with vehicles.

 

Liberty officials project the tax district will generate $5 million to $10 million annually by 2020 - assuming all 958 acres would be developed in ways similar to those at other commercial and industrial parks in the area. The amount depends on how many businesses move in the district, how many people they hire and their salaries.

 

The township has not done projections on how many employees work in the 115 businesses in the district, but they forecast the JEDD could generate about $519,000 to $1 million in 2006.

 

Imposing the tax will require a series of public hearings and other actions over the next several weeks in Liberty, Middletown and Mason.

 

WHAT IT MEANS

To Liberty Township: A joint economic development district would offer a new source of tax revenue to be used for a highway exit east off Interstate 75 at Ohio 129. The interchange is needed to spur business development in Liberty, which is mostly residential.

 

To Mason: The district would offer a new source of money for this Warren County city to widen roads that undoubtedly will congest further when the new exit is built.

 

To Middletown: This financially struggling Butler County city would gain new funds for economic development and/or road improvements.

 

To Liberty workers: Employees in the 115 businesses in the district would pay a 1.5 percent earnings tax

 

To homeowners: In theory, more taxes from commercial development would ease their property tax burden.

 

To property owners in the proposed district: The tax funds could speed development of their land.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051025/NEWS01/510250359/1056

Western Butler County folks have great reason to be concerned.  Check out the quote from the guy who believes in "manifest destiny", that Ross Twp. land is his birthright.  Especially since 18% of Fairfield is undeveloped.  From the 10/27/05 Fairfield Echo:

 

 

A slow-go for growth

Council candidates share how they view Fairfield’s future

Thursday, October 27, 2005

 

FAIRFIELD IS KNOWN as the opportunity city, but the current opportunity for growth is limited, something the three new at-large city council members elected Nov. 8 will have to face.

 

Seven people are seeking those three seats, with just one having previous city council experience. How each would deal with the growing shortage of land for new development has become a top campaign issue.

 

 

Stalling or changing?

 

The city’s population expansion lost its boom once it reached the 39,709 mark in 1990. For the past several years, Fairfield has experienced a slowdown in population growth and may now actually be in a decline.

 

But some Fairfield City Council candidates don’t see the city’s growth as stalling nor stagnant.

 

Tim Meyers sees the city growing based on the number of people expanding their homes.

 

“People are expanding and modernizing their homes, and that to me is growth,” Meyers said. “That means people want to invest money in the homes. They’re not moving.”

 

Debbie Pennington said new subdivisions take time to fill out, such as with Emerald Lakes and Old Winton.

 

“At Village Green, that was slow and look how it has turned out today,” Pennington said.

 

Tim Abbott said he sees the new homes being built in high-end developments such as Emerald Lakes for the leaders of the industry the city will attract.

 

“We are limited in the amount of residential lots that remain in the city of Fairfield. As the school district improves, people will continue to want to be in Fairfield,” Abbott said.

 

Statistics prove what Abbott says about high-end developments. While new houses aren’t being built in as large of numbers, the average sale price for a home has increased by 14 percent in just one year.

 

But with the limited residential land remaining in the city, there needs to be some sort of plan in place if the city wants to grow. Just 18 percent of the city, or 2,405 acres, is undeveloped. Six percent of the remaining undeveloped land is zoned for residential and 25 percent is zoned for agriculture or residential estate (lots at least a half-acre). Under current zoning, there is about 745 acres available for new homes.

 

Pennington said there are always rezoning opportunities.

 

“We need to explore all options. We need to pursue all avenues,” Pennington said. “We need to look local first.”

 

 

Next frontier: Ross?

 

But others, such as candidates Jeff Holtegel and Bob Kramer, see the residential growth as leveling.

 

“That is a concern as the city becomes older — they become landlocked,” Holtegel said. “If we want to grow, the next frontier is Ross Twp.”

 

Granted, Holtegel said considering annexation would be years down the line and he would rather look at building the tax base in the city with new jobs.

 

Business profits and employee income tax make up 75 percent of the city’s 1.5 percent earnings tax collection. The lion’s share of the earnings tax makes up 73 percent of the city’s general fund.

 

Kramer agrees.

 

“It’s more important to have people working in Fairfield and paying city income tax,” Kramer said. “Even when I went around the city, I was surprised with the number of employees working here but not living here. They said, ‘You can get a much bigger home for the same price in (Fairfield) township.’”

 

Candidate Brenda Burer said low new residential numbers are indicative of a stalling national economy. But building the business base will build the community out and fill out the undeveloped residential areas, she said.

 

“A lot of the business people become part of the community,” Burer said. “I think Fairfield is too diverse to put a label on it. I think it will continue the way it has been.”

 

Burer said she would like to see any multifamily residential areas rezoned to single families because “we are maxed out on apartments and multifamily developments.”

 

“In the future we can do some nice developments on that property,” she said. “We’re running out of land that you can build on. We have to be careful on what we do put on it.”

 

Some may look at a 31 percent decline in new home starts as the city becoming stagnant. However, Meyers and candidate Mike Oler do not see the growth as stagnant. It’s just a different kind of growth, a slower growth.

 

“I don’t know if we can say it’s becoming stagnant or not with new development,” Oler said. “I would like to see more, but when that 6 percent is filled, our options are pretty limited at that point in time.”

 

Oler said it would be nice to see the growth as Liberty and West Chester townships have and will experience in the coming years, but the city saw that growth over the past two decades.

 

“It’s gone strictly from a bedroom community and it’s a vibrant community,” Oler said. “It has a good mix. I would like to see us bring in more businesses and restaurants. We need places to go to do things; keep ‘em home.”

 

All seven candidates are vying for the three open at-large council seats. The election is Nov. 8.

 

Contact Michael D. Pitman at (513) 755-5112 or [email protected]

 

http://www.fairfield-echo.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/10/27/fe1027atlarge.html

 

It strikes me that if they would just incorporate, they wouldn't be having these issues.  They could just go ahead and levy an income tax and have all of the say that they want.  From the 10/27/05 Enquirer:

 

 

Liberty tax district in jeopardy?

2 Butler County commissioners want it gone if Mason stays

By Jennifer Edwards

Enquirer staff writer

 

LIBERTY TWP. - Butler County leaders are vowing to kill Liberty Township's proposed special tax district unless Mason is dropped as one of the partners.

 

The township wants to create a joint economic development district, or JEDD, that would allow it to collect a 1.5 percent earnings tax from workers in the district to help pay for a new highway exit and other improvements.

 

Under the current Liberty Township proposal, Middletown would be the administrator for the JEDD because townships cannot legally collect an earnings tax. Middletown would divvy up proceeds between itself, Mason and the township - with the lion's share going to Liberty. The tax district, over 958 mostly undeveloped commercially zoned acres, is projected to generate $5 million to $10 million in earning taxes annually by 2020.

 

Butler County commissioners Chuck Furmon and Mike Fox said they must sign off on the deal and will not if Mason is involved. But Furmon and Fox stressed Wednesday that they do not object to Mason receiving some of the proceeds from the district.

 

Fox recalled he even pledged to Mason years ago that it would receive some money for road improvements. If the new exit is built at Interstate 75 as an eastward extension of Ohio 129, it would dramatically increase traffic in Mason.

 

But Butler leaders do not want officials from the Warren County city on the JEDD board that would oversee the district. "We do not want the JEDD to be outside the county limits," Furmon said.

 

Fox said Wednesday he gets along with the current city leaders, but still blames Mason and Warren County officials for blocking Ohio 129 from extending east all the way to link to Interstate 71 when Ohio 129 was built in the late 1990s, connecting I-75 to the city of Hamilton.

 

"I don't want them to be in a position to hold us hostage in the future," Fox said of Mason.

 

Liberty Trustee President Christine Matacic and Liberty Township Administrator Dina Minneci insist the township won't drop Mason, saying the new exit would have a huge impact on that city.

 

Councilman John McCurley said Mason agreed to the new Liberty exit in late 2002 only on the condition of entering into a JEDD with Liberty. McCurley said that also was the only way a regional traffic board would have approved the interchange at that time.

 

"This is the first I have heard from Mike Fox," McCurley said. "We have done our part of the deal. We will continue to fulfill our obligations in Mason of improving roadways. And Liberty Township has agreed to fulfill their part of the JEDD. So I am not sure where Mike Fox is coming from on this."

 

E-mail [email protected].

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051027/NEWS01/510270361/1056/rss02

---

A similar story from the 10/28/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Liberty Twp. officials defend proposed tax district

Commissioners’ disapproval will not derail project, trustee says

By Eric Schwartzberg

 

LIBERTY TOWNSHIP — A proposed special tax district in Liberty Township is expected to go forward with Mason as one of its partners, regardless of opposition from all three Butler County commissioners, said Trustee David Kern.

 

“Our obligation to Mason is clear,” Kern said, noting the city would remain on the joint economic development district, or JEDD, as is, without any omission or alteration. “Mason’s acceptance of the interchange concept was necessary to overcome a crucial hurdle for OKI (Ohio-Kentucky-Indiana Regional Council of Governments).”

 

Kern said no federal approval of any highway in the area is done without the blessing of OKI. Part of the agreement was that Mason would be compensated for the effect this interchange would have on its local roads.

 

The JEDD, which took near three years of preparation, could be completed in just two months and would create special taxing district in Liberty Township that would collect a 1.5-percent income tax from employees working in a 958-acre district near Interstate 75 and Ohio 129.

 

A final draft of an agreement between Middletown, Mason and Liberty Township is expected to be finished by the beginning of next week.

 

County commissioner Greg Jolivette said he and commissioners Mike Fox and Chuck Furmon oppose the idea of Mason officials being involved with the JEDD board, but support any monetary commitments made to Mason for projects.

 

“We think that the JEDDs should stay in Butler County,” Jolivette said, suggesting Fairfield Township or Hamilton would have made a better partner than Mason. “So we’re not against the JEDD, we just think that there are enough partners in Butler County to operate and manage the JEDD.”

 

Kern expressed surprised that the commissioners would voice disapproval this late in the game.

 

“Now, when we’re at the three yard line, for them to throw this hurdle up is disappointing,” Kern said. “But I feel confident that reason will prevail and that we will proceed.”

 

Liberty Township has been working on creating the JEDD since 2002, originally partnering with Mason and Hamilton. Discussions with Hamilton ended earlier this summer after the city would not agree to anything less than a 17.5-percent share.

 

Middletown would be the administrator of the JEDD and would distribute the lion’s share of the collection to Liberty Township to fund projects at the Liberty interchange. Some of those projects include extending Cox Road north to the Green Crest golf course, widening Hamilton-Mason Road from Cincinnati-Dayton Road to Butler-Warren Road and creating an exit off I-75 east to Hamilton-Mason Road.

 

Liberty Township Administrator Dina Minneci said the JEDD would bring significant financial dividends to the area.

 

“With this JEDD we’re going to be able to bring in the money for the Liberty Interchange, which is going to be an economic engine for not only Liberty Township, but all of Butler County and southwest Ohio.”

 

Jim Blount, chairman for Butler County’s Transportation Improvement District, echoed Minneci’s assessment of the interchange, noting the jobs it will create and the new tax income it will produce. But Blount said he believes Liberty Township has “dropped the ball and been less than forthright” with the TID board.

 

“For nearly three years, the trustees and their representatives have refused to share any JEDD details with members of the TID board, nor have they offered any explanation for the delay,” Blount said. “If the Liberty trustees can’t cooperate and, within a reasonable time, complete the details under their control, then it may be time to do something else.”

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/10/28/HJN1029libjedd.html

 

Here was a good editorial from the 11/1/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Developers should leave Ross Township alone/11-1

 

Recently the Butler County Zoning Board agreed to change the zoning of the Brown family farm in Ross to residential from agriculture. Does the zoning board ever turn one of these down? No. The board seems to be in every developer’s back pocket in the area.

 

This developer is proposing multi-family and single family — small in standards — in a single dwelling neighborhood that are on fairly decent size lots. There is an onslaught of this type development; for example, Black Road. This seems to be going on all over the county.

 

The development of Ross Township is not necessary. Ross Township does not needs malls, fast food restaurants and retail stores. This is not a sign of progress. The land west of Miami River should be scrutinized carefully. This is our last open area of Butler County. The area east of the river is a failure of bad planning.

 

The politicians say they want to serve the public, yet they do not listen to the general public. The development of Smith Road and the area around Ohio 747 is a blight on the land. The advent of that development is low-paying jobs, pollution and general congestion. The zoning board should be trying to work with land development of corporations and businesses in designated industrial parks that offer real jobs.

 

If a true democratic system worked, a vote on each development in the area proposed should be on a ballot with a special election in the area it concerns. This would end any behind-the-door developing dealings with private developers.

 

The Ross Township trustees should be opposed to this development, but they are not. The Ross Township trustees should have to listen to the opinion of those who live in Ross Township. The plan for the future development in Ross should be posted on a billboard of some type on Ohio 128 as you enter Ross and then they will get feedback.

 

Richard Estes

Hamilton

 

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/11/01/HJN1101Estes.html

 

From the 11/2/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Fox: Refinancing dawdle costing millions

By Chris Dumond

 

HAMILTON — Millions of dollars in potential savings to taxpayers are being lost while state and local transportation officials are debating the merits of refinancing debt issued to build the Butler County Veterans Highway, according to Butler County Commissioner Michael Fox.

 

Fox estimated that $4.3 million could have been saved in debt payments by taking advantage of lower interest rates when he first made the suggestion. Last week, that savings was estimated to have dropped to about $2.6 million. That was before the Federal Reserve Board raised interest rates on Monday, likely leaving even less money to be saved, he said.

 

“In order to get the benefits, the (Butler County Transportation Improvement District) and the state had to move quickly,” Fox said in a statement. “That has not happened. There seems to be no sense of urgency and once again, it appears that the ability to capture several million in funding for our local projects has slipped or is slipping away.”

 

Fox’s plan would have used the refinance savings coupled with about $13.5 million in an account reserved for the last debt payment to move forward on the widening of Bypass Ohio 4, the connection of U.S. 27 to Ohio 73 in Oxford and the extension of Ohio 63 from Monroe to U.S. 127 near Seven Mile.

 

Although ODOT has opposed taking money out of the reserve and to dedicating any money saved by refinancing to Butler County projects alone, state and local officials did meet last week to discuss the proposal.

 

ODOT Chief of Staff Andrew Gall said the parties have moved quickly given the risks involved and legal obstacles. Although the TID issued the bonds to build the highway in the late 1990s, ODOT took over debt payments to avoid tolls proposed by the TID. Federal legislation approved this summer would allow the state to refinance the debt, still technically owed by the TID, but there was a question over whether state law would allow it.

 

“There is (a sense of urgency),” Gall said. “It speaks volumes that the TID was willing to come up quickly to meet with us. We have been seeking legislative corrections to allow us to do this and we have moved quickly to clarify the language of the law. And we’ve done our due diligence to make sure that we’re doing the right thing and there aren’t any hidden pitfalls.”

 

John Fonner, director of the TID, said he’s not convinced there is any savings to be had if the reserve account is emptied.

 

“That account is earning interest,” Fonner said. “By the time you figure out the refinancing savings versus the earnings on the interest in the reserve account, I’m not sure if there’s any money there.”

 

Fox has said he believes avoiding inflation of road construction costs by moving the projects forward now will outweigh interest earnings, but concedes the reserve portion of his plan is complicated. Still, he said, it doesn’t justify delay on refinancing the debt, which he said was straight forward.

 

Gall said the department supports the refinancing as long as the savings can be demonstrated. Because state and TID numbers didn’t match up on the deal, he said, analysts are going back over the math. He said he hopes to renew discussions with the TID soon.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/11/02/HJN1103REFI129_s.html

 

I came across these Liberty Twp. land use maps that made me want to vomit.

 

Existing land use in 1999:

 

And proposed land use.  (Don't know the date of the plan.)

Look at all that orange! :-o

You know South Dakota would love for that to happen. But we in Ohio keep complaining about sprawl..;) There is pleanty of room to develop all across the usa.;)

You mean you goto S Dakota, because it's not happening there. Get it? lol

The fact that agricultural zoning could change to suburban residential almost entirely over the course of up to 5 years is really disturbing to me.

I don't see a problem with it. There is many area's in Ohio with agriculture. Check out south east or southern Ohio sometime. They have all the Agicultural land that you would want, if you want to  work or live on a farm of course..;)

That's not the point I was making.  My point is that almost the entirety of the township was rezoned for residential in the space of under 5 years.

From the 11/9/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

No decision on Ross rezoning plan

By Chris Dumond

 

ROSS TOWNSHIP — After hearing nearly three hours of public comments against a rezoning proposal in Ross Township Wednesday night, the Butler County Board of Commissioners failed to make a decision on the matter.

 

In question was the rezoning of the 116-acre Brown farm from mostly agricultural zoning to residential zoning for a 230-home subdivision. After hearing from a crowd of more than 200 about concerns of flooding along Dry Run Creek, which runs through the center of the property, increased traffic and school crowding, though, commissioners said they were unsure of how to proceed.

 

Because the rezoning petition was endorsed by the Butler County Rural Zoning Commission in October, commissioners would have to vote unanimously against the proposal in order to overturn the lower board’s decision.

 

In doing so, their decision would also be counter to the county’s land use plan, which calls for this type of development on the property. Commissioner Michael Fox said that would likely get the county sued, as happened with the Powell farm development in Hanover Township earlier this year.

 

“The slam dunk on this is to put it on the ballot,” Fox said. “I wish right now there was an option for us to put it up for referendum by action of the commissioners.”

 

If commissioners vote for the rezoning proposal, Commissioner Gregory Jolivette said, residents have the right to petition the county board of elections for a special referendum.

 

“That would get a quicker decision than going through the courts,” Jolivette said.

 

Fox said that if the matter goes to court, there are conflicting legal opinions as to whether residents would still have the referendum option if a court ruled against them. Both commissioners agreed that they should take advantage of the 20 days allowed under law to continue to study their options before making a decision.

 

Developer Andy Temmel said he was upset by the lack of support after trying to cooperate and act in a way that was responsive to the community’s wants and concerns.

 

Temmel said that his original plans with as many as 2.5 homes per acre on the site have since been cut down to about two homes per acre, a reduction of about 60 homes.

 

He said he has worked on the design to try to mitigate problems with the creek by building in a buffer, planning for a wetland area along the creek and establishing stricter runoff standards than those of the county.

 

“We, the developer, are abiding by county standards,” Temmel said. “We have a landowner now, whose rights are being stepped on every minute we go along.”

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/11/09/HJN1110ROSS.html

 

From the 11/14/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Ross wrestling with growth issues

By Linda Ebbing

 

ROSS TOWNSHIP — Growth is coming to Ross Township. The Ross Local School District has already seen some of that growth in the form of increased enrollment.

 

In the past 10 years, the student population has increased by more than 144 students.

 

“Any time there is growth, it’s good for the community,” said Todd Yohey, superintendent of Ross schools. “It indicates the community is viable and attractive and things are going well. It’s concerning because of the strain it puts on the community without proper planning and being prepared.”

 

One of those strains is on the local school district.

 

New housing developments are expected to bring a significant number of additional students, district officials said.

 

Morgan Township resident Donald Flick has lived in the school district for more than 15 years.

 

“You can’t stop growth,” he said. “When you start getting growth you have crime ... everything escalates, and it will crowd the school system. Impact fees will stop that so that is the one thing that is probably going to have to have happen.”

 

 

Planning for growth

 

District administrators planned for growth through the master facilities plan in 2001, but “not to the extent that we are seeing,” Yohey said.

 

The plan included construction of the high school, which opened in September; a 15,000-square-foot addition to Elda Elementary School; and renovations to Morgan Elementary and the high school, which now houses the middle school.

 

State funding is expected to be allocated in 2008 and will trigger Phase Two, which includes additional renovations at Elda; renovations and an addition at Morgan Elementary; renovations to the former high school housing grades six through eight; and the building of a third elementary school if needed.

 

The facility plan is a $50 million project. A 6.25-mill bond issue passed in November 2002 will generate approximately $25 million toward the project. The Ohio School Facilities Commission has said it will pay $24 million toward the project.

 

An official enrollment projection from the facilities may have been underestimated because of the potential of growth, Yohey said.

 

Right now “we are at capacity,” he said.

 

 

Finding solutions

 

Board members said they recognize that growth is coming to the area quickly and will impact the school district and the community at large.

 

Last week, district officials presented Butler County Commissioners with a resolution calling for “developers and builders (to) make provisions, financial or otherwise, to help offset additional costs imposed on the district by such developments.” The resolution stemmed from the rezoning request regarding the Brown farm in Ross Township.

 

The resolution was met by a round of applause from the audience, “which was encouraging,” Yohey said.

 

“All we are asking is that those responsible for future growth in our district seek our consultation on the potential impact to the schools in the community,” he said. “This is not an anti-growth or anti-development resolution. It is a request to sit at the table when growth plans are being discussed.”

 

Yohey said he applauds the board of education for taking action to try and establish a process to involve the school district in growth plans for the community.

 

“Hopefully we can work with developers and builders to either manage the rate of growth or provide fiscal assistance to the district,” he said. “Developers are using the educational success of the Ross schools to profit without providing any provisions for the district, other than to burden local taxpayers with the cost of educating more children.”

 

Commissioner Michael Fox said he believes it is “critical” that school administrators have input in development.

 

However, Fox said, the law does not presently allow commissioners or trustees to factor in the impact on the schools when making a decision to approve or disapprove a proposed project.

 

“The law was written at a time when growth did not have the immediate and profound impact that it has on school districts today — when no one even thought of the idea of urban sprawl,” he said.

 

The law should allow commissioners and trustees to consider an impact on the schools in the same way “that it allows us to consider its impact on roads, utilities, water run off and the provision of other public services,” Fox said. “We should be able to require the developer to give money to the schools to cover some of the costs of that impact.

 

“And the school funding formula should recognize that school districts experiencing unusually high growth need additional financial assistance from the state.”

 

 

Working together

 

Doug Meyer, a builder and developer active in Ross Township, agreed that schools need to play a role in the planning process. However, Meyer said he fears the outcry against residential developers is somewhat short-sighted.

 

Meyer said he believes that local governments and school districts make up any shortfalls in tax income from residential development once commercial development comes in to serve those new households.

 

“Let’s all sit down and do some budgeting, not just for five years, but for 10 years out,” he said. “We’ll see what residential development is happening and what offsets that with commercial development that will come in. And if something isn’t balancing out, we’ll figure out how to fix it.”

 

Butler County Bureau reporter Chris Dumond contributed to this story. Contact Linda Ebbing at (513) 820-2158, or e-mail her at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/11/14/HJN1115rossgrowth.html

 

From the 11/20/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Councilman throws up speed bump to U.S. 27 project

 

OXFORD — Plans to widen U.S. 27 North have hit a speed bump in the form of City Councilman Doug Ross.

 

Citing poor treatment of area businesses during the negotiation process, Ross has blocked an ordinance that would essentially end negotiations between disputing property owners and the city.

 

“I am dismayed in how this project has been presented to us, and how the public has been handled by staff,” Ross said.

 

Ross’ decision forced council last week to postpone 16 remaining ordinances which would have deposited funds to meet the Ohio Department of Transportation’s approved appraisals for acquiring the land. Disputes would then be settled by a Butler County jury.

 

Oxford Service Director Michael Dreisbach said that despite the setback, the city is still in line with ODOT’s schedule.

 

“ODOT expects this by December, but (being late) a day or two should not matter, but we will need an emergency ordinance,” Dreisbach said.

 

The Nov. 28 organizational city council meeting or the Dec. 6 meeting are possible dates for the issues to be tackled.

 

Council originally slated the ordinances with an emergency clause — which would make them effective immediately upon approval to keep with ODOT’s timetable — but did not have the six votes needed to pass an emergency ordinance.

 

Dreisbach said 11 properties remain contested, and the city will continue to work with the holdouts. More than 70 parcels of land are involved in this project.

 

The estimated $2.3 million road improvements will include the construction of a center turn lane on U.S. 27 North from Locust Street to Melanee Lane/Merry Day Drive. If the city approves the ordinances, ODOT plans to advertise construction bids by January with construction beginning in the summer.

 

Contact Joe Giordano at (513) 523-4139 or [email protected]

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/11/20/HJN1121US27.html

 

From the 11/22/05 Pulse-Journal:

 

 

Deal to create income tax in part of Liberty moves forward

Final draft of agreement went out Monday

By Eric Schwartzberg The Pulse~Journal

Tuesday, November 22, 2005

 

Liberty Twp. officials are expected to make an announcement early next week about a public hearing for the township’s Joint Economic Development District.

 

A final draft of the JEDD agreement went out Monday, with all contracting parties scheduled to meet Tuesday, said Township Administrator Dina Minneci.

 

The developing area that would be formed into the JEDD aims to capture income tax benefits from the Liberty Interchange area near Ohio 129 and Cincinnati Dayton Road, where a new hospital and Kroger are being built.

 

The JEDD, which took nearly three years of preparation, would create a special district in Liberty Twp. that would collect a 1.5 percent income tax from employees working in a 958-acre area.

 

Townships cannot assess income taxes unless a JEDD is formed, and to form one a township needs help from an entity that can, such as a city.

 

Under the JEDD’s economic development plan, the City of Middletown would “administer, collect, and enforce” the income tax on behalf of the JEDD, as well as provide engineering support and financial analysis

 

Liberty Twp. would provide expanded public services, including police protection, fire protection, civil defense, local government, administration and the like. Revenues from the JEDD would enable the township to further improvements to planned projects, such as the Liberty Interchange.

 

The City of Mason would be responsible for road improvements in Warren County for an improved transportation network leading to the JEDD area.

 

Net tax revenue from the JEDD would be paid at least monthly with Liberty Twp. receiving 83 percent. Fifteen percent would go to Mason and 2 percent to Middletown.

 

County commissioner Greg Jolivette said he and commissioners Mike Fox and Chuck Furmon oppose the idea of Mason officials being involved with the JEDD board, but support any monetary commitments made to Mason for projects.

 

Contact Eric Schwartzberg at (513) 755-5126 or [email protected]

 

http://www.pulsejournal.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/11/22/pj1124jeddupdate.html

 

They might as well become a city now.

I haven't heard what happened with this.  From the 11/27/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Officials resolved to rezone Ross Twp. farm

Residents may create referendum petition to stop farm development

 

HAMILTON — In a move likely to start a referendum petition, Butler County commissioners are expected this morning to approve a controversial request to rezone a Ross Township farm for development as a housing subdivision.

 

The five public hearings leading up to today’s decision have drawn crowds as large as 300 residents, the majority of whom have opposed rezoning the 116-acre farm.

 

Developers plan 230 homes, which includes as many as 81 ranch condos, for the farm located just west of Layhigh Road near the intersection of School Road.

 

Most of the residents’ concerns center on the flooding potential of Dry Run Creek, which flows through the middle of the farm. Others have complained about the possibility of school overcrowding and increased traffic their new neighbors could bring.

 

Commissioner Gregory Jolivette said the developer, Red Pine Properties, plans to meet county development standards and to exceed others, including water runoff limits.

 

“With the planning commission and the zoning commission approving it, they did take a look at a lot of the different requirements and I think they meet the test,” Jolivette said. “There’s a lot of questions about the creek, but I think those were there before the development. Those questions still need to be answered though.”

 

Commissioner Michael Fox also said he plans to vote in favor of the rezoning, but only in order to move it forward so that residents may put the issue on the ballot. At the last public hearing on the matter on Nov. 9, Fox said he believed the matter would end up in court if commissioners voted against it.

 

“My belief is, under current law the best way to give the local residents control over development is to vote to approve the requested development so they can take it to referendum,” Fox said Saturday. “Because the law is not clear, if it goes to court and there is a settlement, there is no specific authority to take a court decision to referendum.”

 

Petitioners would then have 30 days after the commissioners’ decision to gather the signatures of 186 Ross Township voters to ask the Board of Commissioners to put the matter up for a vote in an election.

 

Both Fox and Jolivette said they expect residents to follow through with the referendum.

 

The Butler County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to meet at 9:30 a.m. today on the second floor of the Government Services Center at 315 High St.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/11/27/HJN1128ROSSRECAP.html

 

Well, it looks like Indian Springs Center is going to get a Kohl's.  From the 12/1/05 Fairfield Echo:

 

 

Kohl’s plans Fairfield Twp. location

Store would be built near Super Wal-Mart

Thursday, December 01, 2005

 

Retail chain Kohl’s will join Super Wal-Mart and Office Depot in Fairfield Twp.’s Indian Springs Center.

 

The nationwide chain submitted plans to the township Nov. 22 for the 96,000-square-foot store, which will stand separate from the Super Wal-Mart and serve as the next stage of the shopping center’s 140,000-square-foot expansion.

 

Fairfield Twp. Trustee Steve Morgan said the township is “getting all the right stuff” with the addition of another big-name retail store in the center.

 

“Before too long you won’t need to go to Tri-County because we’re just getting everything out there right now,” Morgan said. “It’s worked out great.”

 

Zoning Inspector Robert B. McIntyre said because the store is located in a zoned district designated as light industrial, there will be no zoning board public hearings or hearings in front of the Fairfield Twp. Board of Trustees.

 

Founded in 1962 by the Kohl family in Milwaukee, Wisc., Kohl’s locations are stocked with apparel items, shoes and accessories for women, children and men, plus home products such as small electrics, bedding and luggage. There are more than 650 Kohl’s stores nationwide.

 

Locally, Kohl’s can be found in Fairfield’s Cincinnati Mills and West Chester Twp.’s Voice of America Centre.

 

Wal-Mart, which is transforming into a supercenter, remains open while expansion efforts continue. The store’s supercenter is expected to open in late spring.

 

Contact Eric Schwartzberg at (513) 755-5126 or [email protected].

 

http://www.fairfield-echo.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/12/01/fe1201kohls.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=7

---

But the township will not be getting a Meijer:

 

 

Meijer spikes plan to come to township

Yearlong interest ends with no reason given

Thursday, December 01, 2005

 

A developer nixed plans last week for a Meijer in Fairfield Twp. without giving a reason why.

 

Bayer Becker, a professional development consulting firm, sent a letter to Township Administrator Mike Rahall stating, “Vandercal Holdings, Inc. formally requests that their application for the approval for a preliminary PUD plan for the northwest corner of Ohio Bypass 4 and Hamilton-Mason Road be withdrawn. If you should have any questions, please call.”

 

The letter offered no reason for the pullout. When contacted, representatives from Bayer Becker refused comment.

 

Fairfield Twp. Trustee Steve Morgan said the withdrawal came as a surprise.

 

“I have no idea why they did that, but they can reapply if they like,” he said. “Once you reapply, you have to start back at square one again.”

 

Morgan said fixing the Ohio 4 Bypass/Hamilton-Mason Road intersection, widening Gilmore Road and widening Ohio 4 Bypass are concerns that will need to be addressed regardless of what may be developed on the corner.

 

“Safety’s going to be a big issue, just like at Bridgewater Falls,” he said.

 

Vandercal Holdings did not return calls before press deadlines.

 

Plans for a Fairfield Twp. Meijer first made headlines in November 2004, when Meijer Real Estate Manager Greg Heath said the retail chain was exploring the possibility of building an approximately 200,000-square-foot store on the southwest quadrant of Ohio 129 and Ohio 4 Bypass.

 

On April 26, Meijer officials presented their preliminary plan for the location to the Fairfield Twp. Board of Trustees.

 

The effect of the big box store on traffic on and around Ohio 4 Bypass raised concerns among some residents and township officials. One cause for apprehension stemmed from Meijer’s plan to locate its entrance directly off the congested Ohio 4 Bypass.

 

The Fairfield Twp. Zoning Commission recommended approval of the preliminary plan, but the decision was not unanimous. Barney Landry, president of the commission, voted against the preliminary plan when it came before the zoning commission.

 

On May 17, the board of trustees unanimously voted down Meijer’s preliminary development plan, citing traffic concerns.

 

Vandercar Holdings re-applied for approval of a preliminary plan, this time on the 66-acre property on the northwest corner of Ohio 4 Bypass and Hamilton-Mason Road. The plan called for a 207,000-square-foot Meijer store, along with a gas station, another 210,000-square-foot-building, a 56,000 square-foot-building and 11 smaller outlots.

 

The zoning commission approved the plan July 27 and scheduled a Sept. 27 hearing. Since then a hearing for the plan was postponed three times, once by the developer and twice by the township.

 

Contact Eric Schwartzberg at (513) 755-5126 or [email protected]

 

http://www.fairfield-echo.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/12/01/fe1201meijer.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=7

 

From the 12/5/05 Enquirer:

 

 

Liberty Twp. land-use plan up for review

By Jennifer Edwards

Enquirer staff writer

 

LIBERTY TWP. - Karen Creekmore and her husband moved to this Butler County suburb from West Chester three years ago to build a home.

 

They liked what Liberty offered: a mix of new subdivisions and schools amid farm fields near Interstate 75 between Cincinnati and Dayton.

 

Now, as tidy rows of homes blanket over former greenspace, Creekmore wants to ensure there's enough land left over for businesses, parks, biking and walking trails, sidewalks and community gathering centers to unify neighbors.

 

But she and other residents want the growth to be smart.

 

"We want well-thought-out commercial development, not just everyday strip plazas," Creekmore, 30, said. "We want things that fit into the community and don't just sit out there on their own."

 

Her sentiments recently were echoed in a townshipwide survey sent to more than 8,000 households. The survey is guiding a steering committee of residents helping to draft Liberty's first comprehensive land-use plan.

 

The current one was adopted in 1999 by the Butler County Planning Commission.

 

The first public review of Liberty's plans was held in May. A second session is 4 to 7 p.m. Thursday at the township hall, 6400 Princeton Road.

 

Residents can peruse 14 "neighborhood concept plans" that carve out areas for trails, greenspace, businesses, an arts and entertainment district, a fourth firehouse and other amenities over Liberty's more than 18,000 acres.

 

Highlights include rezoning land along Bethany Road west of Interstate 75 for commercial development and designating a portion of Cincinnati-Dayton Road near the Bethany Grocery as an arts district.

 

Plans also call for an office and manufacturing district along a northward extension of Cox Road to Ohio 63 in Monroe and neighborhood businesses at major intersections such as Ohio 747 and Kyles Station Road.

 

At that crossroads, there also would be sidewalks, parking behind the businesses and landscaping to shield homes from stores. The intersection's signs would be improved and lanes widened.

 

A third open house is scheduled in the spring and at least five more public hearings after that.

 

Township zoning, trustees, county planning commission and commissioners also must sign off on the plan.

 

Township leaders say they are being careful to work with property owners.

 

"We want to make sure we don't take away property owners' rights, but we want to properly develop our community," said Jon West, director of planning and zoning.

 

Leaders and residents like Creekmore say Liberty must attract new businesses to ease the tax burden on homeowners. About 33,000 people live here now.

 

Liberty trustees have come under heavy criticism this year for being slow to attract new businesses and develop a new highway exit off Interstate 75 and an extended eastward Ohio 129

 

E-mail: [email protected].

 

HOW YOU CAN VIEW TOWNSHIP'S DRAFT OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN

To view the Liberty Township comprehensive land-use plan, go to www.liberty-township.com, or view the records at the township hall, 6400 Princeton Road. For more information, contact Jon West, the township director of planning and zoning: (513)) 759-7500.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051205/NEWS01/512050350/1056/rss02

 

From the 12/7/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Ohio 129 refinancing likely to save $2M

 

HAMILTON — Taxpayers stand to save about $2 million in debt payments on the Butler County Veterans Highway if a refinancing goes as planned.

 

The Butler County Transportation Improvement District Board of Trustees is scheduled to meet this afternoon to do its part in the refinancing of about $90 million in outstanding debt on the 10.7-mile stretch of Ohio 129. The state will save money by refinancing the debt at lower interest rates available now compared to when the project was originally financed in the 1990s.

 

TID Director John Fonner said the move will give full ownership of the highway to the Ohio Department of Transportation

 

“The TID gets out from under about $100 million in debt,” Fonner said. “ODOT assumes all the functional, operational responsibility for the highway. Those are good things, as far as I’m concerned.”

 

TIDs were essentially created by Butler County Commissioner Michael Fox in the 1990s when he was a state legislator. They were implemented to build projects such as the Veterans Highway without the help of ODOT. In recognition of this, the highway was, until recently, named after Fox.

 

The state agreed in 1996 to lease the road from the TID for 20 years and to pay back the construction debt. In 1999, the state also agreed to maintain the road to avoid a TID plan to pay for maintenance by putting toll roads on the highway. Until the refinancing is complete, however, the debt and the road still belong to the TID.

 

Earlier this year, Fox pushed for both ODOT and the TID to refinance the debt and to dedicate the savings to other Butler County roads projects such as the Bypass Ohio 4 widening and expansion of Ohio 63.

 

ODOT spokeswoman Lindsey Mendicino said that will not be part of the refinancing deal.

 

“We don’t make anyone promises for any kind of spending,” Mendicino said. “New construction is divvied up by the Transportation Review Advisory Council and it’s all based on need.”

 

State road spending in Butler County rivals any other city or county in Ohio, she said. By the time the debt on this highway is paid off, she said, ODOT will have spent about $250 million.

 

“Butler County has definitely gotten their fair share,” Mendicino said.

 

Either way, Fox said, he’s happy that something is being done.

 

Mendicino said the refinancing closing is expected to take place on Jan. 4.

 

The TID is scheduled to meet at 2 p.m. on the fourth floor of the Government Services Center at 315 High St.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/12/07/HJN1208REFI129_s.html

 

From the 12/8/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

County TID moves to refinance Ohio 129 debt

 

HAMILTON — Butler County transportation officials Thursday moved to refinance $93 million in highway construction debt at an estimated savings to taxpayers of $2 million.

 

The refinancing takes advantage of current interest rates, which are lower than they were in 1997 when the Butler County Transportation Improvement District issued $158.5 million in bonds to build the 10.7-mile strip of Ohio 129 known as the Veterans Highway.

 

Although the TID issued the debt and managed the construction of the highway, it leased the road to the state in the late 1990s so that the Ohio Department of Transportation became responsible for both the debt payments and maintenance. The TID, however, continued to own the roadway and surrounding right of way, and was ultimately responsible for the debt.

 

“By your actions today, we’re closing that circle by letting ODOT take full responsibility and ownership of about $100 million in debt once the financing is complete,” TID Director John Fonner told the transportation board Thursday.

 

As part of the agreement, Fonner said, the state will pay all of the financing fees, as well as the cost of transferring about 1,000 different parcels associated with the highway. He estimated those costs to be around $250,000.

 

When refinancing was initially proposed earlier this year by Butler County Commissioner Michael Fox, who drafted the TID enabling legislation in the 1990s as a legislator and for whom the highway was initially named, he suggested that any savings from the refinancing should be dedicated to county road projects.

 

ODOT spokeswoman Lindsey Mendicino said Wednesday that would not be part of the deal.

 

Mendicino said the deal is expected to close on Jan. 4.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/12/08/HJN1209TID_s.html

---

From the 12/9/05 Oxford Press:

 

 

U.S. 27 North widening up in air for now

Ross’ vote places project’s fate with ODOT

Friday, December 09, 2005

 

The widening of U.S. 27 North will now be at the mercy of the Ohio Department of Transportation following city council’s failure to approve emergency legislation to immediately enact the necessary ordinances.

 

While council passed 13 of the 14 ordinances, which will allow the county courts to begin the mediation process with disputing property owners, the city will have to wait 30 days for the legislation to become effective, overshooting ODOT’s Dec. 16 target date.

 

The city needed to meet the deadline to ensure ODOT funding for the estimated $4 million project.

 

Councilman Doug Ross was able to stymie the emergency legislation due to the absence of Councilman Dave Prows. Ross’ “no” vote prevented council from reaching the necessary threshold of six council members consenting to emergency legislation.

 

Ross had previously forced council to table the ordinances in a similar instance during the Nov. 15 meeting.

 

“It was not easy to vote ‘no’ last time,” Ross said during Tuesday’s meeting. “But after I’ve had more conversations (with property owners), I look at you and say the longer you are in business in Oxford the worse you are treated.”

 

Oxford Service Director Michael Dreisbach hopes ODOT will provide some latitude with reaching the target date. Council passed a resolution earlier in the meeting depositing no more than $1.125 million with ODOT for the project, which he said he hopes they will view as an action of good faith.

 

“It’s out of our hands at this point,” he said. “ODOT will make the decisions.”

 

Dreisbach noted if ODOT will not provide the city with leeway, the project likely will be deferred to a later date. Mayor Jerome Conley said the city would be in a “holding pattern,” should ODOT deny funding at this time, but hoped the project would continue.

 

“I respect Ross’ point of view,” Conley said, “but I think the enhancements of 27 North with the majority of funding coming from the state should move forward because of the future and safety of our citizens.”

 

When Ross voted against the first ordinance, it forced council to remove the emergency language in the remaining 13 ordinances. All ordinances concerning dissenting property owners adjacent to U.S. 27 must be passed or resolved through city negotiations in order to receive funding. Ross refused to reintroduce the first ordinance with revised language.

 

Yet, Dreisbach believed council will not need to touch the first ordinance because it involves approximately $600 and can be resolved.

 

“It deals with a temporary easement,” Dreisbach said. “It is one of our smaller issues.”

 

The road improvements include more than 70 parcels of land in the construction of a center turn lane on U.S. 27 North from Locust Street to Melanee Lane/Merry Day Drive. Negotiations will continue with dissenting property owners in spite of the setbacks.

 

Contact Joe Giordano at (513) 523-4139 or [email protected]

 

http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/12/09/OP1209us27.html

 

 

From the 12/10/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Plan details 14 Liberty neighborhood concepts

By Eric Schwartzberg

Cox News Service

 

Liberty Township — An open house to review Liberty Township’s first comprehensive plan drew more than a dozen people to the township’s administration building Thursday night despite the snow that blanketed the region.

 

Township officials explained various aspects of 14 neighborhood concept plans, including “Liberty Station,” which provides an area for a future park-and-ride location for a possible Interstate 75 light rail service connecting Cincinnati to Dayton and other cities to the north.

 

The plan also concentrates on the expansion of government services around the Princeton and Ohio 747 intersection — labeled by the plan as “Liberty Town Center.” Such services might include a post office, a senior center and a satellite location for Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, said Lee Ward, senior planner for McGill Smith Punshon, Inc.

 

Ward said he has been working since April to develop a consensus with the steering committee about what changes should happen in the township.

 

“I think it’s an attempt to create a destination, rather than a pass-through place of convenience,” he said.

 

The steering committee sought to develop neighborhoods with a “cohesive feeling” and a consistent image of the township via entrance nodes at key points with similar lighting, signing and landscaping, Ward said.

 

The plan also focuses on connecting neighborhoods and township parks via several bicycle paths, preserving farmland and using buffer zones to protect residential areas from those designated for commercial use.

 

One area in the northeast — “Liberty North Industrial Park” — is planned as an area to promote industrial development as a new employment center.

 

“When we say industrial we don’t mean AK Steel,” Ward said. “We mean office, warehouse and technology.”

 

Some residents at the open house expressed concern about the industrial park’s proposed uses, and how the township would create a buffer for existing single-family residential homes in the area, said Jon West, director of zoning and planning. Several people suggested replacing the word “industrial” for a more apt moniker, such as “technology.”

 

Township officials said another open house will be held next month to offer residents a second chance to view the plan.

 

Key elements of the plan also include an office and manufacturing corridor and a commerce center located just east of Cincinnati-Dayton Road and extending beyond I-75.

 

Fourth-generation Liberty Township resident Sonya Smith said she likes that the plan focuses on specific locations for business along major roads but said it didn’t address her concerns about increased traffic flow.

 

“I guess I had to tell myself this is all concept. ... They’re trying to get it all in perspective. I want to look through it and try to decipher it a little bit better when I get home,” Smith said. “I’m glad to see they’re taking steps to focus on the future here in our township.”

 

Focusing on the future began with a survey sent earlier this year to more than 8,000 households throughout the township. A steering committee of residents looked at survey answers to help draft the township’s first comprehensive land-use plan.

 

Not everyone who braved the winter weather to be at the open house thought it was worth the trouble. Fred Silber, a Liberty Township resident for nearly 33 years, said he liked the township the way it used to be.

 

“I liked it when it was all farm and we didn’t have all the people, because the cows don’t drive. They don’t get out on the highway,” Silber said. “When we moved out here it was farmland and you get kind of used to it. And now you have all the traffic you’ve got to battle.

 

“People are ... different now. They’re all in a hurry to go no place, I guess.”

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/12/10/hjn1210liberty_s.html

 

Get ready for Union Center part II, plus I love this quote: 

After years of discussion, plans are finally accelerating for a new exit off Interstate 75 in this northern Cincinnati suburb to boost economic development and ease traffic congestion.

 

Ease traffic congestion my ass!  We all know what will happen.

 

Liberty Interchange in focus

New ramps looked to for boost in development

 

By Jennifer Edwards

Enquirer staff writer

 

LIBERTY TWP. - After years of discussion, plans are finally accelerating for a new exit off Interstate 75 in this northern Cincinnati suburb to boost economic development and ease traffic congestion.

 

The "Liberty Interchange" would route motorists off the I-75/Ohio 129 interchange and then onto new ramps connected to Hamilton-Mason Road between Cincinnati-Dayton and Cox roads.

 

Now, drivers can only go west off I-75 in Liberty Township onto Ohio 129, which carries cars through Fairfield Township to Hamilton.

 

As part of the project, Cox Road would be extended north to Ohio 63 in Monroe, linking more than 600 acres of commercially zoned land. Upon completion, the road network would bring more than 15,000 jobs and millions in business tax revenue to reduce the demand on residential property taxes for services. "This is the next big economic development engine for the county," Butler County Commissioner Mike Fox said Monday.

 

Work on the $30 million to $50 million project could start as soon as this summer, beginning with the widening of Hamilton-Mason Road from the current two lanes to five from Cincinnati-Dayton Road to Butler-Warren Road. Work on the ramps will start in 2008. The project should be finished by 2011.

 

The construction timetable is contingent on Butler County officials receiving updated cost projections soon and approving them. The Butler County Transportation Improvement District would borrow the money and oversee construction.

 

The local funding concept was developed because state officials have been slow to come up with highway money and complete projects, county leaders say. It was used in the late 1990s to widen and extend Ohio 129 and to build the Union Centre Boulevard interchange at I-75 in West Chester Township.

 

But in this case, changing Liberty Township leadership and difficulties in setting up complicated special tax districts to pay for the interchange have delayed it over the past few years.

 

And, in recent weeks, Butler County Commissioners have bickered with Liberty officials over the makeup of one special tax district.

 

That is a joint economic development district Liberty has entered into with Middletown and Mason.

 

The interchange would be paid for by borrowing against the expected increases in property taxes that would flow from new development and from an unusual 1.5 percent earnings tax for the people who work in 115 businesses so far in the 958-acre district.

 

Mason has to be involved because Mason would feel some of the traffic impact of the new interchange. Middletown would administer the earnings tax and divvy up the proceeds between the three entities, with Liberty Township receiving the lion's share. The district is projected to generate $5 million to $10 million in earnings taxes annually by 2020, assuming the land is fully developed into commercial and industrial parks, township officials say.

 

Butler County leaders had objected to Mason having a seat on the tax district board governing it but relented Monday after Liberty's lawyer assured them Mason would only have one of five seats and Liberty would hold three, the majority.

 

Fox, one of the biggest proponents for the exit, also complained the township has taken too long - three years - to establish the joint tax district.

 

A sense of urgency is needed now, he warned, or the exit will never get built.

 

"It's taken longer to do this than dropping the atomic bomb," agreed Jim Blount, chairman of the transportation district.

 

But now Liberty leaders are committed to the project and establishing its financing, said Dina Minneci, the township administrator.

 

"The continuity is there now. We are here. We are ready to play. Let's go forward," Minneci told county leaders.

 

County Engineer Greg Wilkens stuck up for Liberty officials: "There is a change," he told commissioners. "I do see the flow. I do see the action."

 

Late Monday, Liberty trustees also took action on a second set of tax districts, called Residential Incentive Districts, to help pay for the interchange.

 

They voted to set aside a portion of property tax revenues from nearly 900 homes in four new subdivisions: Four Bridges, Trails of Four Bridges, Townhomes of Four Bridges and Cedarbrook Estates.

 

The four districts would generate about $151,000 a year beginning in 2007; a figure that could rise to $1.5 million a year as property values grow through 2035, according to the township.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051220/NEWS01/512200337/1056

^ LOL...Union Center Part II....

 

Talking about the oversaturation of retail in the whole area, this article was in the 12/16/05 Enquirer.  It talks about the Regency Project, Bridgewater Falls, Fountains of Fairfield (TOWNSHIP), blah blah blah blah blah:[/i]

 

 

Kohl's opening in Fairfield Twp.

By Mike Boyer

Enquirer staff writer

 

Workers will begin next week building a $13 million shopping center in growing Fairfield Township featuring a 90,000-square-foot Kohl’s department store.

 

Dave Birdsall of developer Regency Centers Inc. in Blue Ash said the 150,000-square-foot “power center” at the northwest corner of Princeton Road and Ohio 4 Bypass also will include an H.H. Gregg appliance store and an Office Depot.

 

An unnamed national restaurant chain also will have an outlet in the complex.

 

Regency expects to have the shopping center open by next fall. Regency has owned the 20-acre site, already zoned for retail development, since 2000.

 

The project is an extension of the adjacent 150,000-square-foot Shoppes of Indian Springs, which features a Wal-Mart and other stores and opened in 2002.

 

“We think it’s one of the most dynamic retail locations in the area,’’ said Birdsall.

 

Home Depot has a store on Princeton Road, west of Bypass 4, across from Wal-Mart. On the east side of Bypass 4, also on Princeton, is the 60-plus-acre Bridgewater Falls development, which includes J.C. Penney, Michael’s, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Best Buy, Bed, Bath & Beyond and Old Navy.

 

Last fall, Paul Hemmer Companies in Fort Mitchell announced plans for a $30 million retail-office project called Fountains of Fairfield Township, north of the Bridgewater Falls complex.

 

Jacksonville, Fla.-based Regency, a publicly owned real estate investment trust, owns nearly 400 retail properties around the U.S. encompassing nearly 50 million square feet. Since 2000 Regency has developed 134 shopping centers.

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051216/BIZ01/312160019

 

All that's disgusting about West Chester TOWNSHIP is summarized in this article and in the photos it contains.  From the 12/18/05 Enquirer:

 

 

PHOTO: The Dudley farmhouse and barns (left) on Tylersville Road in West Chester are just a few blocks east of Interstate 75. The dairy farm, now closed, once spanned 400 acres.  Photos by Tony Jones/The Enquirer

 

PHOTO: Traffic moves along Tylersville Road in front of the Dudley farmhouse. Over the years, the family has sold pieces of the land, which developers used for projects worth many millions.

 

Developers want last piece of farm, but future unclear

By Jennifer Edwards

Enquirer staff writer

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Few places show the clash of old rural ways and new suburban bustle as clearly as the old Dudley family dairy farm.

 

Today, thousands of people driving along Tylersville Road can see the last vestiges of the farm - an 1836 farmhouse and a few acres of land surrounded by shopping plazas, fast-food restaurants, and heavy traffic. Yet earlier this year, cows and horses still grazed there.

 

Controlled by the Dudley family since 1914, the farm once spanned 400 acres on the north side of Tylersville Road. The land ran west from the former Voice of America site along Cox Road all the way across what is now Interstate 75 and the Wetherington Golf and Country Club.

 

Over the years, the family has sold pieces of the land, which developers used for projects worth many millions.

 

Commercial land in West Chester has been selling for as much as $200,000 to $300,000 an acre, according to developers. Parcels that front a major road like Union Centre Boulevard have sold for $500,000 and up per acre, said Chris Wunnenberg, director of development at Schumacher Dugan Construction, Inc., the company that developed Union Centre.

 

Wunnenberg would not speculate on how much the last piece of the Dudley farm may be worth.

 

"They've made a ton of money selling the farm out and may sit on that last piece for 20 years or sell it next week," Wunnenberg said.

 

Next year, construction will begin on another big project involving old Dudley farm land - a 160- to 300-bed community hospital to be part of the University Pointe complex.

 

Given the pace of development, few expect the old farmhouse to last much longer. Especially since the death this summer of Jim Dudley, 74, who lived in the two-story, 4,342 square-foot farmhouse.

 

"It's inevitable that it will be developed, but I think the schedule depends on the family's interests," Township Administrator Judi Boyko said.

 

The last few cows that grazed the land were shipped off in May, said Paul Dudley, Jim Dudley's nephew. But he said the family isn't ready to talk about what might happen to the land.

 

The first right to purchase the property goes to Midland Atlantic Properties of Kenwood, developer of most of the new business near the farm including the Voice of America Centre anchored by a Target store.

 

Given the success of that project and others nearby, Midland Atlantic would love to develop that last slice of farmland, said the company's managing principal, Jonathan Silverman.

 

"We are just waiting to see what the family decides to do," he said. "The farm is uniquely located. Whatever is done there is just going to tie all the pieces of the puzzle together in one nice ribbon."

 

One of the farm's silos, dented during a 1980 storm, was knocked down in 2004 and replaced with a shopping center, Tylersville Center at Dudley Farms, on the northwest corner of Tylersville and Cox roads.

 

For a time, the silo was the namesake for a popular watering hole, Dudley's Dented Silo Pub. But the tavern also was razed to make room for the strip center.

 

In 2002, an 1887 red-brick schoolhouse on former Dudley property at the northwest corner of Tylersville and Cox roads was demolished to expand the intersection.

 

 

Vanishing farms

 

The sold-off parts of the Dudley farm join more than 7 million acres of Ohio farmland that have vanished since 1950. That represents about 30 percent of the state's farmland, an area equivalent to 23 Ohio counties, according to American Farmland Trust.

 

Ohio lost 212,000 acres in farmland from 1992 to 1997, second only to Texas, according to the trust.

 

Butler, Warren and Clermont counties have lost 89,000 acres - or 18 percent - of their farmland since 1980. In Northern Kentucky, Boone County has lost 9,835 acres, or 11.8 percent, since 1987. New developments also are quickly claiming farmland in Campbell and Kenton counties.

 

Some West Chester business operators and retired farmers said they would hate to see the rest of the Dudley farm join those ranks.

 

Employees at the Minnesota-based coffee shop chain Caribou Coffee in the Tylersville Center shopping plaza say they enjoyed watching horses roam the farm over the summer and fall.

 

In recent weeks, the horses have vanished, lamented Gina Hendrickson, a Caribou Coffee manager.

 

"It's very scenic for us," she said of the farm. "In the midst of all this commercial build-up, it's nice to have that pleasant atmosphere."

 

Eugene Rosselot, 87, has lived his entire life in a farmhouse on Cincinnati-Dayton Road. He has known the Dudley family for decades.

 

"I just can't see developing every square inch. They ought to leave a little green space," said Rosselot, vice president of West Chester's historical society. "Do you want more cars on the road? They can't get through Tylersville Road hardly anytime.

 

"Sometimes I hate to ride around the township now. I remember when all the farms were here. It's real depressing to me."

 

 

House won't be saved

 

The township is trying to preserve some of its past, but isn't likely to try to save the old Dudley farmhouse.

 

"We are trying in multiple ways to preserve and conserve green space," Boyko said. "However, the township has no control over the private sale of property for development."

 

Money for preservation and recreation has been limited since voters rejected a park levy in 2003. That also has slowed plans to develop the township's 300-acre Voice of America Park, Boyko said.

 

However, the township is acquiring property along the Mill Creek for a conservation corridor that may eventually feature bike paths and flood protection, she said.

 

E-mail [email protected]

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051218/NEWS01/512180385/1056/rss02

---

Faced with runaway property taxes an unsustainable growth, West Chester TOWNSHIP may be mortgaging their future for gain in the present.  From the 12/17/05 Enquirer:

 

 

Tax break proposed for seniors

West Chester Twp. debates future levy exemptions

By Jennifer Edwards

Enquirer staff writer

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - This Butler County suburb could be the first in the region to reduce senior citizens' property taxes by exempting them from future township levies.

 

Township Trustee Catherine Stoker this week asked Township Administrator Judi Boyko to determine the legality of her proposal. A previous proposal involving the county's sales tax rate recently fell flat.

 

But voters should still get the chance to decide - via a ballot issue - on a property tax break for seniors, Stoker said.

 

"Wouldn't it be nice if each community had the option of doing something like that?" Stoker said. "Would you like to carry (part of the tax burden) of maybe three percent of your population, your seniors, to help them out?"

 

Stoker said she plans to discuss the concept at the Tuesday township meeting at 7 p.m. at the township hall, 9113 Cincinnati-Dayton Road.

 

Stoker began pushing property tax breaks for senior citizens in November. She proposes offsetting some of the potential lost revenue by either continuing a recently imposed temporary sales tax increase or by approving a new sales tax increase.

 

In October, the county raised its sales tax from 6 percent to 6.5 percent for two years. The county said it hopes to raise $25 million for a county emergency communications system.

 

Butler County Commissioners were noncommittal or opposed to Stoker's plan.

 

Commissioner Greg Jolivette said he wants to get a better look at the state of the county's finances first.

 

The county's reserve fund is depleted. As a result, the county's bond rating could suffer, which would lead to higher interest rates on future county loans.

 

Setting a precedent now for giving tax breaks for seniors could become a budget concern years later because studies show that Butler County's elderly population will increase 74 percent by 2020, from 47,577 now to more than 83,000.

 

Senior citizens aren't the only ones who'd like to see the idea pass.

 

Some baby boomers nearing retirement also liked the idea.

 

West Chester resident Mary Baker, who now pays about $2,000 a year in property taxes, said she would like to see senior citizens' property taxes lowered.

 

"West Chester to me is a high tax area," said Baker, 54. "It's crazy how they do things here with the taxes. It wasn't bad when we first moved here. But it's just grown up so much and it seems they are always raising some kind of tax here in West Chester."

 

Last month, voters approved Lakota's 7.73-mill combined operating levy and bond issue after rejecting it three times. The levy will cost the owner of a $100,000 home another $236 a year.

 

More tax increases may be coming to the ballot next year. Officials said West Chester needs a bigger fire tax to pay for more equipment, staffing and training to keep up with the community's growth.

 

West Chester isn't the only area looking for ways to reduce senior taxes.

 

In Warren County, leaders are waiting to see if they can increase their sales tax to roll back senior citizens property taxes.

 

State Rep. Tom Raga, R-Mason, has asked a state office to draft legislation to allow the county to increase that county's sales tax by about one-tenth of a percentage point.

 

Mason resident Joyce Chance, 63, said she hopes tax relief comes soon. She said she still has to work at a fast food restaurant to pay for her medical insurance.

 

"A lot of senior citizens are talking about moving out," said Chance, who has lived in Mason for 36 years and now pays about $2,000 in annual property taxes. "You definitely can't afford to pay property taxes when they go up $200 more a year. If it keeps going up, we'll have to move, too."

 

E-mail [email protected].

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051217/NEWS01/512170371/1056/rss02

 

I-75 exit first in line for money

Liberty might have to change tax-district allotments

 

By Jennifer Edwards

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

LIBERTY TWP. - Several road projects, two firehouses and other township improvements could wind up losing financial support to a bigger plan to build an expanded Interstate 75 interchange.

 

Liberty leaders dedicated money this week from four of 11 new residential tax districts to the interchange project. But now officials say they may need money from the other seven, too.

 

The interchange, estimated to cost $30 million to $50 million, would allow traffic to more easily travel east from I-75 onto Hamilton-Mason Road, which would be widened from two to five lanes. Cox Road also would be extended.

 

The roads would open hundreds of acres to new commercial development, which township trustees and county commissioners say will create more jobs and more tax revenue from commercial sources instead of homeowners.

 

The new districts would not raise taxes, but would earmark new property tax collections from growing subdivisions to pay off special projects for up to 30 years. Officials predict that four of those tax districts - involving the neighborhoods of Four Bridges, Trails of Four Bridges, Townhomes of Four Bridges and Cedarbrook Estates - will raise up to $37 million for the interchange.

 

But on Thursday, Commissioner Mike Fox wanted to hedge those bets.

 

Liberty and Butler County previously approved using the other seven districts to raise up to $35 million for other projects. But Fox told Liberty leaders to make sure they can use the proceeds, if needed, for the interchange.

 

The neighborhoods involved are Hawthorne Hills, Summerlin, Kyles Station, Allen Estates, Creekside Meadows, Aspen Trails and Falling Waters.

 

Roger Gates, an assistant Butler County prosecutor and Liberty's lawyer, said it wasn't certain if or how the township could legally change the projects to be funded by the seven districts.

 

One big concern is that, unlike the other four districts, these seven are not near the interchange, Gates said. Such districts are supposed to benefit from the projects they finance.

 

The unusual residential tax districts are part of a bigger, complex local funding plan for the interchange.

 

The plan was developed because local officials have been frustrated by slow action when seeking traditional state sources of money.

 

Liberty Township leaders told Fox they would do what they could to support the interchange. More discussions are planned at a Jan. 9 dinner between local and state lawmakers.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051223/NEWS01/512230389/1056/news01

 

From the 12/22/05 Pulse-Journal:

 

 

Older West Chester strip struggles

Businesses site Streets, VOA as competition

Thursday, December 22, 2005

 

Editor’s Note: This is the first in a two-part series on challenges facing businesses on U.S. 42 in West Chester Twp.

 

Toni Roark has kept the doors of her art gallery on U.S. 42 open for the Christmas shopping season, but after Saturday’s last customers make their purchases, she’ll close them for good.

 

“It’s sad,” said Roark, who opened Everything Art in March of this year. “It was definitely a learning experience.”

 

The cost of running the all-in-one gallery, studio and classroom had recently begun to exceed the amount of money coming in, making business non-sustainable. September’s sudden spike in gas prices marked the turning point for Roark, who never saw business recover.

 

She plans to continue teaching classes out of her home and hopes to reopen the business soon — possibly in Lebanon or Hamilton.

 

The biggest reasons for her lack of success is not the absence of a market for her unique business venture, she said, but rather the many challenges U.S. 42, also known as Cincinnati-Columbus Road, poses to businesses compared to other areas of West Chester Twp.

 

“Forty-two is just a way to get from Mason to Springdale,” Roark said. “Our biggest problem here is foot traffic.”

 

The township’s 3.3-mile stretch of U.S. 42 from Fields Ertel Road to Butler-Warren Road is a two-lane, 40-mph thoroughfare void of sidewalks. Several parking lots line the road, but no turn lanes and an awkward set of intersections at West Chester and Cox roads make turning in and out of businesses difficult.

 

“It’s hard to turn in anywhere and you can’t park anywhere and then walk around,” Roark said.

 

During rush hour, cars are lined up for more than a mile in front of Dimmick Plaza, where Dave Holtkamp runs All About Pictures, a specialty framing store he has owned for 11 years, he said.

 

“It’s almost impossible to make a left turn out of here,” he said. Traffic concerns, combined with the increase of regional retailers setting up camp at Union Centre Boulevard and Voice of America Centre plus rising property taxes have had a significant impact on Holtkamp’s business. Now the only employee, he said unless a good deal can be negotiated with his landlord, he will be forced to relocate out of the township.

 

“This used to be the hub of West Chester here in Pisgah. Tylersville used to be nothing. Dimmick Plaza used to be full of cars, now it’s pretty much empty all week,” he said.

 

Many of the businesses along the highway’s corridor have left, leaving an abundance of vacancies. Take it or Leave it, a consignment shop that had recently moved into a larger space in the plaza, is now gone. Without some significant changes, the sad story will continue, agreed Holtkamp and Roark.

 

“Widening the road would help,” Roark said. “And passing ordinances to make businesses start improving their buildings. Also, if businesses would connect their buildings and parking lots, that would help improve foot traffic.”

 

Township Administrator Judi Boyko agreed U.S. 42 poses several challenges to business, the primary one being the road itself with its heavy traffic and the difficulties of accessing parking lots.

 

About two years ago, the township hired a consultant company to work with property owners to generate ideas and solutions to some of those challenges. Among the proposed improvements was to build access roads off the highway connecting many of the businesses and adding landscaping to make it more visually appealing.

 

“We came up with some ideas, albeit they were grandiose ideals of how to redevelop that corridor,” Boyko said. “Some thought we should make smaller incremental steps, and there were some that were all for the proposal and others were not.”

 

Ken and Shalini Van Skaik, owners of Van Skaik’s Antiques, formed West Chester 42 Citizens to oppose the project.

 

Their main concerns were a $15 million price tag — which would be paid for by the businesses through a special tax district along the 3-mile stretch — and the overtaking of space in front of some stores.

 

Furthermore, the Ohio Department of Transportation had plans underway to widen the road to three lanes, a project expected to begin in 2007. That project would undo much of the landscaping proposed by the township, Van Skaik said.

 

“We figured, just let ODOT do their thing and the people of Ohio will help pay for this and not just the people up and down this corridor,” he said.

 

But the township doesn’t have to abandon the roadway, he said. If business owners could be included in improvement plans, he would support future partnership.

 

Boyko shared his sentiment.

 

“We’re open to help if any of the property owners want to re-initiate that plan, we would love that. We do have concern for the corridor, we haven’t forgotten them.”

 

Contact Cameron Fullam at (513) 755-5127 or [email protected]

 

http://www.pulsejournal.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/12/22/pj1222UCBvs42.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=7

 

From the 12/21/05 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Ross petitioners set to fight rezoning for 230-home plan

Developer of 230-home plan holding firm

 

ROSS TOWNSHIP — They needed 186 signatures to put the rezoning of the Brown farm for a subdivision here up for referendum. Referendum organizer Randy Lane said he plans to submit a 494-signature petition to Butler County officials this morning.

 

“We got this done on one Saturday,” Lane said. “It was quick. It was easy. People knew about it and they knew we were coming.”

 

Plans to rezone the 116-acre farm near the intersection of Layhigh and School roads have been contentious from the outset. Residents opposing the 230-home subdivision plan have turned out in the hundreds to zoning meetings with concerns about the number of homes, traffic, school overcrowding and flooding issues with Dry Run Creek, which runs through the center of the property.

 

Despite those concerns, the county planning commission, the rural zoning commission and ultimately the Butler County Board of Commissioners approved the zoning change from agricultural to residential use. If Lane’s petition is validated, though, the issue will be put on the ballot in the next election.

 

Of the nearly 500 signatures, Lane said he believes about 470 belong to registered voters who live in the township.

 

However, Developer Andy Temmel said Wednesday he’s ready for a fight if the voters overturn the county’s zoning decision.

 

“We’re going to protect the landowner’s rights here, which are being abused,” Temmel said. “If this is overturned, we will file a new plan and go to a denser design. I’m not going to back off it this time and if I go to court, I’m not going to back down.”

 

He said the development partnership, Red Pine Properties, invested in the project based on the county’s land use plan, which calls for as many as four homes per acre on the farm. Temmel said it’s frustrating now to hear residents complain about half that density when the land use plan has been on record for more than four years.

 

“The community of Ross Township had the opportunity to determine what the land use plan was going to be for their township,” he said. “We’ve met all the county’s requirements. We’re playing by the rules and now they want to change the rules.”

 

Lane said the apparent ease with which petitioners were able to collect signatures to put the zoning issue up for referendum shows that the land use plan does not reflect what township residents want for the future. Just as there are private property rights, he said, surrounding property owners and communities have rights, too.

 

“I’m not against development. I’m against this development because there are too many homes,” Lane said. “They do have the right to sell the land, but that doesn’t give the person who buys it the right to overcrowd the schools. It doesn’t give them the right to flood the creek and put that water down on my farm and it doesn’t give them the right to tie up the roads with all the traffic this thing is going to generate.”

 

Temmel said that based on his concessions, he thinks the opposition has more to do with telling neighbors what they can and can’t do with their land than any of the other issues raised.

 

In an effort to address some of the complaints about the development, Red Pine cut about 60 homes out of the original plan and designed runoff controls to help with the creek problems. The original plan called for a 30-acre buffer around Dry Run Creek and some of the feeder streams. Temmel said he was even willing to put up a $1 million bond for creek maintenance and donate money to the school district.

 

He said those compromises may be off the table if the referendum goes against him.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/12/21/HJN1222REFERENDUM.html

---

From the 12/23/05 Oxford Press:

 

 

Hanover Twp. forming group to look at land use

Trustees seeking ideas on township development

Friday, December 23, 2005

 

Trustees in Hanover Twp. are trying to get an early start on revamping the Butler County land use plan.

 

The plan dictates township-by-township how land is expected to develop using zoning designations.

 

The land use plan is the primary tool used when determining whether to rezone property in both townships with their own zoning authority and those that rely on the county.

 

Hanover Twp. Trustees said they are now forming a committee of residents to look at how they want the township to develop over the next few decades.

 

“Development has become such a big issue all around the county,” Trustee Tim Derickson said. “In the past, we really haven’t had a lot of public input on this, not because we were against that, there just wasn’t a lot of interest. Now, people care.”

 

Township residents turned out by the hundreds earlier this year to county planning and zoning meetings to protest the proposed 330-home development on the Powell Farm on Ohio 177. Their opposition swayed Butler County Commissioners to vote against rezoning the farm, but landed the county in court because the development was in line with the county’s 2001 land use plan.

 

More recently, nearly 300 residents concerned about another subdivision in Ross Township showed up at a county commissioners’ meeting.

 

“As a trustee, we would be absolute fools not to encourage the public to be involved in this,” Derickson said. “If they’re willing to work, why would we not invite them? When we’re looking at how to best grow Hanover Twp., the trustees are just three people. We want a diverse group of people so everyone’s ideas are well represented.”

 

Trustee Doug Johnson said finding a balance in Hanover Township is going to be particularly important because it borders urban development on the east and rural development to the west.

 

“We don’t want to keep it Mayberry, but we don’t want it to become a metropolis,” Johnson said. “With the citizens and their varied views of what the township should look like, we should come up with a pretty good plan.”

 

The last update to the county plan took about five years. Butler County Department of Development Director Mike Juengling said he’s encouraged that Hanover Twp. is taking action now.

 

“I’d like to see some of the other townships get started looking at it, if they’re not already,” Juengling said. “Certainly, we’ll have to start thinking about this after the first of the year.”

 

Juengling has been working with trustees in Ross, Hanover, Milford, Oxford, Lemon and Madison townships where the county has zoning jurisdiction for the last two years to update the county’s zoning code.

 

He said the changes are complete, and he expects the new code to be adopted before the year is over or in early January. That, he said, will make way for the land use plan update as well as a review of the county’s subdivision regulations.

 

Both the zoning code and current land use plan are available at development.butlercountyohio.org.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

 

http://www.oxfordpress.com/news/content/news/stories/2005/12/23/OP1223landuse.html?cxtype=rss&cxsvc=7&cxcat=7

 

Just an update....

 

The streetscape for OH-4 in the medians around the Mack/Muhlhauser area should be underway.  The work will feature decorative pavers, irrigation, signage and lighting, as well as plants.

 

The project will stretch from Woodridge Plaza to Stockton Station Lane.

 

The project cost is $730,312, with 85% coming from a grant from OKI.

 

It will be completed by September 2006.  However, OH-4 will continue to be a horrible stretch of road.

Here's one that got by me....

 

Let me get this straight.  This is going to be the "downtown" place where events are, etc.  In a sea of low-rise offices and surface parking.  The residential component of this "downtown" is on the other side of an interstate highway.

 

It is NOT "urban".

 

And a clock tower?  How inventive!

 

Anyway:

 

 

ARTIST'S RENDERING: West Chester's new urban park, expected to break ground next year, will be more than 3 acres and have two fountains, a clock tower and an outdoor seating area.  Illustration provided

 

'Town Centre' to be built in West Chester

Spot would be gathering place for events

By Jennifer Edwards

Enquirer staff writer

 

WEST CHESTER TWP. - Construction could begin next year on a $2.5 million park off Union Centre Boulevard that would be a key step toward creating a "downtown" West Chester.

 

The "Town Centre" park will be the size of two football fields side-by-side between Centre Pointe Drive and West Chester Road. The site occupies part of the area where the Union Centre Boulevard Bash is held each summer.

 

The plan calls for a 90-foot-tall clock tower, two fountains and a grassy seating area big enough for 1,000 people. The township agreed earlier this week to build the park, but has not yet decided how to pay for maintaining it.

 

The park is intended for events such as the annual Taste of West Chester, and to attract more people from the growing workforce around the Union Centre Boulevard interchange with Interstate 75, said Jose Castrejon, a vice president with McGill Smith Punshon Inc., of Sharonville, the park's master-plan designer.

 

"It will have a downtown square feel to it. The key idea is a place to gather, to interact with people," Castrejon said. "When I see people getting a sandwich from a restaurant and eating that sandwich in a parking lot, there's something wrong with that."

 

About 60,000 people live in West Chester; the daytime work population is estimated to be 50,000.

 

"There's a need for a center or a common space," said Castrejon, a township resident since 1996. "There's no real downtown in West Chester per se. There's no outdoor space for the daytime community or even the weekend community that travels, lives or works there."

 

The park eventually would be surrounded by office buildings and at least one hotel, said Chris Wunnenberg, director of development at Schumacher Dugan Construction Inc., the company that has developed most of the Union Centre Boulevard area.

 

Those projects could be worth more than $100 million combined. The park could help speed development, Wunnenberg predicts.

 

"This (park) makes this not only possible, but it brings in the quality of the development," Wunnenberg told trustees. "It attracts a much higher user."

 

West Chester 75 Inc., a group of local investors that owns the park site, is donating the property to the township.

 

Construction is expected to begin next summer and be complete by spring 2007.

 

E-mail [email protected].

 

PARK FUNDING

The township plans to pay for construction through tax increment financing, a method of borrowing against future increases in tax collections that come from new developments. Officials continue to discuss how to cover maintenance costs, including whether to assess fees from nearby businesses, seek donations or absorb the costs as part of the township's general budget, said Township Administrator Judi Boyko.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051225/NEWS01/512250354/1056/rss02

---

Here's a followup on the Liberty Twp. "concept areas".  Check out the spohisticated map I pulled off of their website:

 

 

Plans for Liberty aired

 

A second open house will be held Jan. 12 for Liberty Township residents to hear details of 14 "neighborhood concept plans" that will help shape the future of this growing Butler County suburb. The plans, which carve out space for businesses, fire houses, an arts and entertainment district, walking trails and other concepts, are part of an effort to form a new comprehensive land-use plan. It would replace a plan adopted in 1999 by the Butler County Commission. The open house will be 4 to 7 p.m. at Liberty Township hall, 6400 Princeton Rd. For details, call 777-4761 or visit www.liberty-township.com.

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060102/NEWS01/601020330/1056/rss02

 

What? I had no idea 50k worked in West Chester.

From the 1/10/06 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Bypass contract going before Hamilton council

By Lisa A. Bernard

 

HAMILTON — Users of Ohio 4 and Bypass Ohio 4 can expect various lane closures on the two major Hamilton thoroughfares this summer.

 

Both state roads are on the Ohio Department of Transportation’s list to be repaved this year, said Ralph Reigelsperger, director of Hamilton’s Public Works Department.

 

No start date has been set for either project. However, traffic will be maintained throughout the duration of each resurfacing, said Reigelsperger.

 

The Hamilton City Council tonight is slated to consider legislation to approve a contract with ODOT for the resurfacing of Bypass Ohio 4.

 

The contract calls for Hamilton to pay about $152,000, or 20 percent of the project’s total cost, Reigelsperger said.

 

“It’s not likely to be more than that,” he said, adding that under ODOT’s urban repaving program local municipalities are expected to pay up to 20 percent of project costs, with the state fronting 80 percent of the bill.

 

Hamilton is still negotiating with ODOT over the city’s expected costs for resurfacing Ohio 4, he said.

 

Preliminary estimates by ODOT led city officials to believe Hamilton’s portion for the Ohio 4 project would be around $483,000, Reigelsperger said.

 

However, ODOT’s most recent estimate was $1.8 million, he said.

 

“I’m having a little difficulty making up the difference, obviously. That’s why we’re having discussions with them now — to make sure we’re on the same page,” Reigelsperger said.

 

The council is not expected to consider that contract until late February, he said.

 

In other business tonight, the council is slated to consider a proposal to change the name of Hamilton-Cleves Road — at least the portion of the road that runs through Hamilton city limits — to Pyramid Hill Boulevard.

 

The council has passed resolution in May 2005 in support of the name change in order to assist visitors in finding their way to the Pyramid Hill sculpture park and better recognize the park as a tourist destination.

 

In November, the city’s Board of Revisions and Assessments also recommended approving the name change, but asked that the move be subject to a reimbursement by Harry Wilks, founder of the sculpture park, to the First Baptist Church of Hamilton for the expense of having to reorder supplies affected by the street’s name change.

 

Tonight’s proposal before the council includes that stipulation.

 

The council is set to meet at 5:30 p.m. for an organizational meeting, at 6 p.m. for a work session and at 7 p.m. for its regular meeting on the first floor of One Renaissance Center, 345 High St.

 

Contact Lisa A. Bernard at (513) 820-2186, or e-mail her at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/01/10/hjn011106councilpreview.html

 

This was meant to compete with University Pointe, but it's a dead deal.  From the 1/10/06 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

County planners reject Liberty medical complex

 

HAMILTON — Plans for a new 100,000-square-foot medical complex in Liberty Township failed to get the blessing of the Butler County Planning Commission Tuesday afternoon.

 

The commission voted to recommend Liberty Township trustees deny a request to rezone about 70 acres on the north side of Hamilton-Mason Road between Cincinnati-Dayton and Mauds-Hughes roads for the medical complex largely because of the inclusion of a condo development and questions over density.

 

The land is now zoned for agriculture and business uses. The development plan calls for about 150 attached homes on 25 acres, a 100,000-square-foot medical center on about 11 acres, a 30,000-square-foot medical office building on about 3 acres, a 150,000-square-foot office warehouse on about 16 acres, 45,000 square feet of two-story office space and seven out lots totalling about 9 acres.

 

County Planner Joseph Schmidt recommended against approval of the request because the county’s land use plan calls for the entire area to develop for business use. Schmidt said Liberty Township’s zoning rules also wouldn’t permit the density for the condos.

 

During the public hearing, Hamilton-Mason Road resident Gerald Parks said backups on the road from the railroad underpass east of Mauds-Hughes make traveling dangerous already without adding more homes and offices.

 

Parks said a hill before the underpass compounds the problem.

 

“As cars come over the hill traveling west on Hamilton-Mason Road, they cannot see the stopped cars on the other side,” he said. “How do I know this? Because I have cars driving through my fences.”

 

Developer George Flynn, partners with Bob Hutsenpiller on the project, said stakeholders have already discussed widening the road. Flynn said the township’s density rules don’t make sense to him and shouldn’t get in the way of the project.

 

“Land use and planning and economic vitality should go hand in hand,” he said. “In our proposed mixed-use development, we’re providing economic vitality that the county and the township are looking for while increasing the quality of life in the township.”

 

Although Commissioner Steve Feldmann agreed, the rest of the commissioners present did not.

 

The proposal now goes back to Liberty Township.

 

In other business, the commission recommended:

 

Denial for a request to rezone 14.5 acres west of U.S. 27 in Oxford Township for the construction of about 100 subsidized apartments. Earlier plans for 128 apartments on 18 acres have been downsized. The item goes before the Butler County Rural Zoning Commission Jan. 23.

 

Approval for a request to rezone 154 acres near the intersection of Ohio 4 and Lesourdsville-West Chester Road for a mixed-use development contrary to the county’s land use plan.

 

Plans call for 140 acres of single-family homes, 11 acres of planned-unit development to include condos, and 3 acres of community business development. The item must now be considered by Liberty Township.

 

Approval for a request to rezone 5.5 acres next to the University Pointe medical complex between Cox Road and Interstate 75 for commercial planned-unit development to conform with surrounding zoning. The parcel is part of plans for a 30-acre Health Alliance hospital there. The item must now be considered by West Chester Township.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/01/10/HJN011106PLANNING_s.html

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Uncontrolled growth has consequences...from the 1/5/06 Fairfield Echo:

 

 

Bridgewater Falls taxing on fire department

Bridgewater Falls completion could mean more strain

Thursday, January 05, 2006

 

Emergency calls to Fairfield Township’s Bridgewater Falls shopping center sometimes overextend the fire department’s resources.

 

Last year, Fairfield Township. Fire Department answered 1,505 emergency calls in residential areas and the township’s commercial district, compared to 1,476 in 2004, said Fire Chief David Downie.

 

The commercial district, particularly the Bridgewater Falls shopping center, is contributing to that upswing in calls, Downie told township trustees last week. Since June 1, 2005, the department made more than 30 calls to Bridgewater Falls and more than 20 to the Wal-Mart district.

 

On Dec. 9, the department received three calls from the Bridgewater Falls shopping complex, two of which occurred within three minutes of each other, he said.

 

“Within eye-distance we had two squads, a paramedic unit and my vehicle there within a 3-minute time frame. ... We had diminished our EMS capabilities significantly at that point.”

 

Between 6 a.m. and 7:30 a.m on Dec. 27, the department responded to two EMS calls that left the township virtually unprotected.

 

“In a short amount of time we had both squads out and we had one guy left in the township to provide fire protection,” Downie said, noting one employee was out on sick leave.

 

Backed-up traffic on Princeton Road during the holiday shopping season contributed to the frustration. Downie said he expects next year to be even more challenging.

 

“With only a portion of the (Bridgewater Falls) complex open, (2006) is really going to be frightening in terms of providing coverage and increased people,” he said.

 

Any commercial business produces its share of false calls, Downie said, but the increased amount of people in the area is resulting in more instances of personal injury calls, such as people falling in department stores or parking lots.

 

“We just can’t prevent those,” he said.

 

When multiple calls occur within the same time period, the department’s only alternative is to turn to neighboring mutual aid communities for assistance.

 

“We don’t have the capability to back-up a back-up run,” he said.

 

Contact Eric Schwartzberg at (513) 755-5126 or [email protected]

 

http://www.fairfield-echo.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/01/05/fe0105trustees.html

 

From the 1/12/06 Hamilton JournalNews:

 

 

Bypass widening misses first state cut

 

HAMILTON — Local transportation officials were looking for big money from the state Thursday to widen the often clogged and wreck-prone Bypass Ohio 4, but instead walked away from Columbus with a consolation prize.

 

The Butler County Transportation Improvement District sought from ODOT half of the roughly $30 million needed to widen the bypass. The state’s Transportation Review Advisory Council, which prioritizes funding for highway projects, instead suggested $1.2 million for continued design work to be paid in fiscal year 2007.

 

The project was not included on a draft list of projects to be funded between now and 2012. The list is subject to a 90-day public comment period before the council is scheduled to finalize it in May.

 

TID Director John Fonner said the tentative $1.2 million commitment will still allow the project to move forward.

 

“We heard from a variety of sources that the construction funding in this round of TRAC would be very limited because of construction resources being drawn away at the federal level to the Gulf states, because of the war in Iraq and also that gas tax revenues were down because of spike in price last year,” Fonner said.

 

Only one new project was added to the state’s six-year construction plan, a $6.4 million state highway widening in Columbiana near Pennsylvania.

 

Jim Blount, chairman of the TID trustees board, said the project’s ranking wasn’t entirely a surprise to him either, given similar rumblings about the state of federal appropriations.

 

“I think it’s just another indication that locally, we’ve got to get our act together and cooperate and get all the questions answered that the state might have and assure them that this is a major project,” he said.

 

The latest funding proposal for the widening work puts half the cost on local governments, including the county, cities of Fairfield and Hamilton and Fairfield Township. Some representatives have suggested using that local funding commitment to get started on the worst parts of the bypass now, rather than wait on the state.

 

Fairfield Township Administrator Michael Rahall said stakeholders are scheduled to meet Wednesday to consider their options.

 

Aside from the TRAC list, Fonner said, the state allocated $2.95 million for construction improvements in fiscal year 2009 at the intersection of Tylersville Road and the bypass. Fonner said the intersection has the highest accident rating along the corridor.

 

Contact Chris Dumond at (513) 820-2025, or e-mail him at [email protected].

   

http://www.journal-news.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/01/12/HJN011306TRAC_s.html

 

I posted that first story.

 

The second one...chalk it up to the over-saturation of the retail market.