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Agreement could benefit township property owners

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Photo by Dan Lassiter

Patrick and Valarie Kelly have been waiting for two years for the city and town of Milton to sign a boundary agreement so the Kellys can subdivide their property into residential lots on Serns Road.

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MILTON — For two years, Patrick Kelly has wanted to subdivide his land into residential lots.

Kelly owns 35 acres in Milton Township, but the city of Milton has jurisdiction over the land. City ordinance prohibits land division in its extraterritorial jurisdiction, City Administrator Todd Schmidt said.

But Kelly could get his land division soon if the city and town approve a boundary agreement this month.

"I can't do anything with this land until this (agreement) gets signed," Kelly said.

The two governments have been fine-tuning the agreement for more than two years. The city council could vote on its approval Tuesday, and the town board plans to take it up Monday, Oct. 12.

Under state statute, the city has the right to approve or deny development a mile and a half beyond its borders. The agreement would limit that right to an area bounded by Interstate 90/39 to the west, Klug Road to the north, Vickerman Road to the east and Milton-Harmony Townline Road to the south.

In return, the town would agree to not oppose city annexation within that boundary.

The biggest winners would be township landowners who would no longer be under the city's jurisdiction, said Bryan Meyer, town chairman.

Kelly is one of those landowners. He hopes to divide his land on Serns Road into four parcels. He plans to build a house on one of the parcels and has accepted offers—contingent on the boundary agreement—from two buyers who also want to build homes on the lots.

"If they (the buyers) move on, the town and school district of Milton might not be the benefactors of those tax dollars," he said.

Peter Riesterer owns a farm on Manogue Road. All of his land is within the city's extraterritorial jurisdiction now, but only part of it will be if the boundary agreement is approved.

He wishes all of his land were going to be under town jurisdiction because the city's authority over his property makes him nervous, he said.

"If the time ever comes when we want to milk more cows, I wonder what they'll say," he said. "They get the OK or the say of what happens with your farm, (and) we wonder what happens next."

Meyer said the agreement will build good will between the city and town and give the town control over more township land.

In fact, the city and town already have demonstrated good will in their discussions about the agreement, he said.

"It's been really kind of a relatively comfortable process talking to the city staff, trying to create this language," he said. "It's just taken some time."