A referendum petition drive, lawsuit and opposition website have followed efforts by the city of Delaware to annex more than 200 acres of farmland from neighboring townships to be developed into high-density housing.
The citizen-driven challenges illustrate the backlash that some communities face over ever-changing landscapes in growing areas. The need for affordable housing in Delaware County, one of Ohio’s fastest-growing, comes at a time when development — including Intel’s chip manufacturing plant under construction in neighboring Licking County — will likely produce more pressure for so-called workforce housing.
Delaware City Council last year approved a rezoning application for about 230 acres northwest of Routes 36/37 and 521, just east of the city. That was before it annexed the land into the city.
Because the property involved was at the time in both Brown and Delaware townships, Tom Davis, a neighboring property owner, sued the city. Davis argued, in part, that the city of Delaware had no authority to rule on zoning outside its boundaries.