The Columbus = Dispatch : Hilliard relents, will sign Big Darby accord

Hilliard relents, will sign Big Darby accord

Development rules only a guideline, Columbus tells = suburb=20

Monday, April 28, 2008 2:54 AM

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

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After months of wrangling with Columbus over = development of the=20 Big Darby watershed, Hilliard is expected to sign an agreement that = would=20 encourage future cooperation.

The Hilliard City Council likely will approve the Big Darby Accord = Master=20 Plan tonight, ending more than a year's stalemate.

Columbus had threatened to withhold water and sewer service to any = Hilliard=20 development in the Darby area if the city didn't sign the accord, a = framework=20 for development that emphasizes environmental protection and responsible = growth.

Hilliard said it was entitled to preserve home rule.

"The issues we raised were right," said Brett Sciotto, Hilliard City = Council=20 president. "It was worth fighting for."

Although Hilliard had been considered antagonistic toward Columbus, = he said,=20 the city might now be viewed as a leader.

"It is more useful to be at the table working together than to be on = the=20 outside saying that things aren't working at all."

Sciotto said Columbus' change from a concrete to a nonbinding = agreement made=20 it attractive.

In a letter to Hilliard officials this month, Tatyana Arsh, Columbus' = director of public utilities, calls the master plan a "policy framework, = not=20 law."

"As long as we're not obligated to agree, we'll remain at the table," = Sciotto=20 said.

One of the major unanswered issues involves impact fees paid by = developers to=20 mitigate the effects of development on the environment, traffic and = schools.

It is unclear who would control that pot of money and what it would = be used=20 for, Sciotto said.

A proposed 5,000-home development, in Prairie and Brown townships, = could=20 bring 10,000 students into the already crowded Hilliard and = South-Western school=20 systems.

Columbus would extend water and sewer service but wouldn't annex the=20 property, so the Hilliard schools would absorb the children, said David = Meeks,=20 Hilliard's economic development director. If Columbus annexed the land, = it would=20 be in the Columbus school district.

Harrisburg, Grove City and Norwich Township -- relatively minor = players in=20 the watershed -- have yet to sign the accord. Hilliard will become the = seventh=20 municipality to sign on.

Some township administrators said they are concerned about = restrictions in=20 the plan that would stop current owners from selling their land to=20 developers.

"It's a huge philosophical issue," said Norwich Township trustee Mike = Cope,=20 "taking away property owners' rights to develop as they see fit. These = people=20 thought for years that they'd be able to develop their property=E2=80=A6 = their nest=20 egg."

Because Norwich Township's fire department serves Hilliard and Brown=20 Township, township leaders are worried that growth there will stretch = their=20 forces.

"We could be asked to take on quite a bit of work with not enough = revenue to=20 make it work," said Wayne Warner, township administrator.

Even by signing, the accord likely won't be a panacea for future = development=20 concerns, Sciotto said.

"There is no way you can take 10 or more governments and write the = perfect=20 plan in how they deal with development situations."

dnarciso@dispatch.com =

"It is more useful to be at the table working together than to be on = the=20 outside."

Brett Sciotto
Hilliard council president