By a 5-2 vote, the Bellefontaine City Council Tuesday night, June 10, gave its consent to an ordnance that would annex into Bellefontaine just over 200 acres of the Duff and Son, Inc. property adjacent to the north side of the city.
However, Mayor David Crissman made it clear to the council prior to the vote that that he would veto the legislation should it pass.
The following is a recording of the statement that Mayor Crissman made to the City Council prior to the third reading and final vote on the Duff property annexation Tuesday:
Mayor Crissman has 10 days to return the ordinance to the council noting his objections.
For the vote on the ordinance, Council Members Deb Baker, Nick Davis, MacKenzie Fitzpatrick, Jenna James and Jordan Reser all voted in favor of the measure, with John Aler and Kyle Springs each voting “no” Tuesday night.
President of Council Zeb Wagner read into the record the section of the Ohio Revised Code regarding mayoral vetoes, instructing the mayor to note his objections in writing and forward copies of the same to both the president and the clerk of council. Then the measure will be put on the agenda for the June 24 council meeting, where the ordinance will again be put to a vote.
President Wagner, again citing the Ohio Revised Code, noted that to override the mayor’s veto, the council will need a majority of two-thirds, or five “yes” votes.
As is the case with all annexations, the Duff properties – should the mayor’s veto be overridden – will come into the city zoned as an R-1 Single Family Residence District. Plans have been made to place a solar energy-generating facility on the property, which would necessitate that the parcel be rezoned as an M-2, General Manufacturing District, a change that would first have to pass the Planning Commission before being presented to the council for a final disposition, so approving the annexation does not necessarily mean that solar panels will be popping up on the north side of the city anytime soon.
Seven people, none of whom live inside the city limits, addressed the council in reference to the annexation issue during citizen comments portion of the Tuesday’s meeting. This included Scott Duff, who is part owner of the parcels in question.
While Duff did not rule out constructing a solar energy-generating facility on the property should it be annexed, he also said that the land could also be used to construct warehousing, a data center, or for some other purpose other than a solar farm, noting that any of these options would be contingent on the property being annexed so they could take advantage of the city’s services.
Another person spoke in favor of the annexation and the solar facility, while the other five who addressed the council came out strongly against the annexation, and the construction of a solar farm in particular.
The vote to sustain or override the mayor’s veto of the annexation is scheduled to take place during the next regular meeting at 7:30 p.m. June 24.