The city, along with around 16 out of 29 property owners, has petitioned the Ashland County Board of Commissioners to annex land out by U.S. Route 250 and Interstate 71.
Commissioners Denny Bittle and Jim Justice voted unanimously on Thursday to approve a July 6 hearing date for the request. Commissioner Mike Welch was absent Thursday.
Commissioners said they were unaware of the petition and therefore deferred questions.
Ashland Mayor Matt Miller said the annexation has been in the works for several years. The process, according to state law, is to gather at least 50% of the affected property owners’ signatures before filing the petition to the county board of commissioners.
This map shows the footprint of the city's request to annex 91 acres of land near the U.S. Route 250 and I-71 interchange.
“It’s been nearly impossible in the last several years because we couldn’t get in touch with (the property owners),” he said, noting that some of them live out of state.
He said the city has been pursuing it because of the economic benefit provided to the businesses.
“If you are outside of the city limits and utilizing city utilities, you pay double the amount you would pay if you were part of the city,” Miller said.
Another reason, he said, is to make local law enforcement easier.
“Right now, if you look at a map of the city, it’s like a checker board out there. So if a police officer is issuing a traffic citation, it becomes a challenge because the officer wonders (if they are) within city limits,” he said.
Annexation is also beneficial to the city in that businesses would now pay income taxes; however, Miller did not know how much income tax revenue would be generated by the move.
“That’s not something that we’ve looked at, nor has it been a driver,” he said.
The city would also collect a portion of property tax revenue by annexing.
Should the 91 acres become part of the city, it would be Ashland’s first annexation since 2017, when the city annexed 30 acres from Milton and Montgomery townships.
Some of the businesses included in the annexation are McDonald’s, Perkins Restaurant and Bakery, Grandpa’s Cheesebarn and Wingate by Wynham, among others.
One of the properties included in the annexation is currently being eyed by a developer interested in building apartments or a hotel, Miller said.
A copy of the petition, a list of the properties being annexed and adjacent properties and a legal description of the properties is included in documents below.
