CENTERBURG — Centerburg and surrounding township residents have made it clear they want to preserve the agricultural heritage of the village when growth and development comes.
Council members passed legislation on Monday to protect natural resources and reduce the potential negative effects of housing subdivisions.
Under the amended zoning rules for planned development (PD) districts, developers must dedicate 1,500 square feet of land to the village for each residential unit built in a PD.
They must also agree to join the village’s New Community Authority.
Village Administrator Richard Dzik said council can grant exceptions if it feels it is in the best interest of the community.
“But really what these code languages are telling new development in the community is, we’d love to have you if you want to be here. These are the things you have to meet in order to grow this community,” he said.
Land dedication requirement
Land dedicated to the village will be available for public purposes. Uses include current or future village infrastructure needs, the village’s agricultural preservation initiative, or future economic development opportunities in the public interest.
“It could be projects that we need land for, but primarily, a lot of our focus has been on some kind of agricultural preservation program,” Dzik said.
Developers’ preliminary development plan must identify the approximate size and location of dedications.
The dedicated land does not have to be in the property being rezoned. However, it must be at least 1 acre and lie within the corporation limits.
Common areas, green spaces and stormwater basins required within the planned development do not count toward the dedicated land. Neither do roads, sidewalks, and right-of-ways.
Council members can waive the land dedication requirement if available land within the PD district is undesirable for public use. In that case, developers pay a fee-in-lieu payment.
The fee is based on fair market value of the land less existing improvements. Payments go into a dedicated fund for future land acquisition.
Joining the NCA
Developers must also join the village’s NCA. Under the NCA, subdivision homebuyers will pay up to an additional 10 mills in taxes.
The concept is growth should pay for growth.
“Obviously new residents, new homes, new infrastructure in the community costs money, above and beyond our traditional tax revenues, so [the NCA] requires those developments to invest additional money toward the village’s growth-related needs. Namely, right now, that is a sewer plant expansion that we see the need for in the near future,” Dzik said.
Dzik said an NCA’s lifespan ranges from 10 years to unlimited. The NCA board of trustees sets the term.
Kutarock attorney Greg Daniels, the village’s NCA legal counsel, said the village must have a good purpose for the NCA revenue. It also must know when that purpose is met.
Dzik said the comprehensive plan will provide those answers.
“We’re pretty sure we know some of the areas, law enforcement protection, sewer plants,” he said. “The plan will look into our roadway infrastructure, our stormwater, and a lot of those things to give us a good feel for what we want that community authority to fund.
“Once it’s met that need or no new needs have come up, it can expire.”
Dzik said that after 20 to 30 years, people buying houses that are no longer new will question why they are paying the additional 10 mills.
“We probably are going to want to look at trying to sunset it in 20 to 30,” he said.
Community and developer response
Mayor Greg Myers and Dzik said Centerburg residents have not pushed back on the NCA.
Dzik said developers are concerned the 10 mills exceeds the typical 7 mills they see. He presented the plan to Schlabach (Croton Road), Harbor (Johnsville Road) and MI (potential annexation and development behind Whitey’s Car Wash).
“Nobody’s tested the housing market in Centerburg yet. I think all of us sitting here are sure that the minute you build them, they’ll probably sell. But there’s a little bit of angst of is it going to make it more difficult to sell the homes,” he said.
Dzik said a 10-mill fee affects homebuyers, not the developer’s bottom line.
For Knox County, a 10-mill NCA puts the village in a high property tax market. However, it is mid-market for buyers moving from Delaware, which is where he anticipates buyers will come from.
“My guess is they would probably move here and still have lower taxes with a 10-mill NCA,” he said. “And again, it’s not free money for whatever we want. It’s really intended to address a sewer plant that we need because we’re growing faster than we anticipated when we built it. It’s meant for road usage, increased stormwater needs.”
Raising sewer tap fees
Barnes Road resident David Weade suggested council raise sewer tap fees to $7,000. According to him, Galena, Sunbury, Johnstown, and Delaware County fees range from $7,400 to $9,500.
Weade also asked council to reserve some taps for commercial establishments and ensure the schools still receive their revenue share.
Dzik acknowledged an unintended effect of raising fees is that everyone pays the higher fee but said it is something the village should consider.
If the village decides to raise tap fees, developers could have the option to pre-pay at the lower rate.
Dzik said the village’s engineering firm, V3, believes available upgrades would potentially increase sewer capacity by 50% or more.
If the village raised tap fees to $9,500, it would collect $3.3 million compared to $1.75 million at current rates. Dzik expects to bring legislation to council before year’s end that creates a capital improvement fund dedicated to tap fee revenue.
“If you just put it into your general sewer budget, it looks like operating revenue. We want to make sure it’s segregated in a way that that we don’t spend it on anything but major improvements,” he said.
Council members waived the third reading and adopted the zoning amendment. Councilwoman Julie Pruett Bishop voted no on both votes, believing it should have gone to three readings.
