By 1808Delaware
Delaware City Council will face another development-heavy agenda this coming Monday evening, with a series of public hearings and votes touching roads, housing, downtown redevelopment, emergency services, annexation and some of the city’s most visible growth corridors.
The Council meeting begins at 6:00 PM on Monday, July 13. Beginning at 7:15 PM, members are scheduled to move through four consecutive public hearings, including three proposals tied to tax increment financing or payments in lieu of taxes, followed by consideration of an 83-home residential development. Several other measures later in the agenda could shape development downtown, near the city’s east side, around Ohio Wesleyan University and along Vernon Avenue.
Three Financing Proposals, Three Different Growth Areas
The first public hearing, scheduled for 7:15 PM, concerns Ordinance No. 26-33, a proposal involving parcels connected to infrastructure improvements at Mill Run Crossing and Glenn Road. The ordinance would establish a tax increment financing structure in which property owners make service payments in lieu of taxes. Those payments would be directed into a municipal fund supporting public infrastructure improvements, including a proposed roundabout at Mill Run Crossing and Glenn Road. The proposal also provides for distributions to Delaware City Schools, Olentangy Local Schools and the Delaware Area Career Center.
At 7:20 PM, Council is scheduled to hold a hearing on a separate TIF agreement involving Davidson Lane and Nutter Farm Lane. Ordinance No. 26-34 would authorize financing arrangements for road improvements serving the Kroger Distribution Center area.
Five minutes later, attention shifts again. Ordinance No. 26-35 would establish another payment-in-lieu-of-taxes arrangement, this time for public road improvements near the Youth Development Ohio AAA Blue Jackets Ice Arena. The measure also includes a school compensation agreement and distributions involving Delaware City Schools and the Delaware Area Career Center.
Taken together, the three hearings place infrastructure financing at the center of Monday night’s agenda, with Council considering how future increases in property value can be used to support roads and other improvements while also addressing the interests of local school systems.
An 83-Home Development Heads To Hearing
At 7:30 PM, Council will turn to a proposed residential development on the city’s west side. Resolution No. 26-50 seeks approval of a development plan allowing 83 single-family homes on 35.68 acres south of the intersection of Frank’s Field Drive and Marysville Road. The property is near US 36 and South Section Line Road, west of the Lehner Woods and Heatherton subdivisions.
The proposal arrives as Delaware continues to absorb residential growth and the accompanying pressure on roads, public services and surrounding neighborhoods.
Downtown Investment Returns For A Third Reading
Council is also scheduled for a third reading of a proposed Community Reinvestment Area agreement involving 4 N. Sandusky Street. Ordinance No. 26-29 would authorize an agreement with Stephen P. Hartman, LLC for investment in real property improvements at the downtown building. The proposal involves a tax abatement connected to renovation of the building’s upper floors. The measure puts another piece of downtown reinvestment before Council, this time focused not on new construction at the city’s edge but on reuse of existing space in the historic core.
OWU Streets And A Road That Exists Only On Paper
Two street vacation measures are also set for third readings.
Ordinance No. 26-27 would vacate public rights of way known as Hayes Street, Walnut Street, Harrison Street and four public alleys within property owned by Ohio Wesleyan University. Under the proposal, an existing street on the OWU campus would become a private drive.
Ordinance No. 26-28 concerns Jane Road west of Winston Road and north of Cottswold Drive. The undeveloped right of way exists on paper but was never built as a neighborhood street. The proposal would vacate it to adjoining property owners.
East Side Annexation Reaches A Third Reading
Another consequential third-reading item is Ordinance No. 26-30, involving the proposed annexation of approximately 15.827 acres. Known as the GTZ annexation, the property is proposed for development as retail centers near the city’s east side corridor. The measure comes as commercial and residential growth continues to reshape the eastern approaches to Delaware and as Council weighs the infrastructure and service implications of additional land entering the city.
A much smaller annexation matter also appears later on the agenda. Resolution No. 26-55 would identify the municipal services Delaware would provide to approximately 0.427 acres proposed for annexation as Vernon Avenue right of way.
Fire And EMS Cooperation With Columbus
Council will also consider a three-year limited automatic mutual aid agreement with the City of Columbus. Resolution No. 26-54 covers fire suppression, rescue and emergency medical services, providing a framework for automatic assistance between the two cities under qualifying circumstances.
The agreement stands out on an agenda dominated by development, but it reflects another consequence of regional growth: public safety systems increasingly operate across municipal boundaries, particularly along expanding corridors connecting Delaware with northern Franklin County.
A Grants Administrator Could Join The Pay Plan
Ordinance No. 26-36 would amend the city’s Management, Professional, Technical, Confidential and Supervisory Employees Pay Plan to include a Grants Administrator position. The proposal adds an administrative element to a meeting otherwise filled with physical development, but the position could have implications for how the city identifies, pursues and manages outside funding opportunities.
So no single item defines Monday’s agenda.
Instead, Council will consider several versions of a growing Delaware at once: new homes on the west side, retail development to the east, infrastructure financing near major commercial and recreational sites, investment in an upper-floor downtown property, changing street arrangements at OWU and a closer emergency-response relationship with Columbus.
