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NILES -- City council on Monday approved an agreement with Howland and Vienna townships on the proposed annexation of 31 acres at the intersection of Stillwagon Road and Niles Vienna Road into Niles.
At the beginning of the meeting, council voted to enter into executive session for discussion. After returning, the agreement was approved by a 7-0 vote.
"It's not a one-sided agreement," Doug Sollitto, councilman at-Large, said. "We're not going to force annexation, but Howland is not going to resist if a citizen wants to annex in as well. I think that's the important part of the whole plan."
According to a joint statement released by the parties Friday, the townships will not object to the pending annexation of 31 acres, and the city will agree that properties in Vienna and Howland that receive Niles utilities will not be required to annex into the city or enter into a development-incentive agreement in order to continue receiving the utility service(s) from the city.
Officials said Niles will service existing utility customers in the townships who want to receive a new utility service from the city and review the process for addressing future requests for annexation into the city.
The agreement is for 20 years, with automatic renewals at five-year intervals, unless the city and the townships all agree to end the agreement.
"We're going to leave it up to the citizen … if they want to come in, they're not going to be fought coming in and we're not going to force them in," Sollitto said.
Of the seven parcels of property discussed, one parcel belongs to Jeffrey and Mary Ann Heston, and six are owned by Bagnoli Irpino LLC, which is owned by Niles police Capt. James Villecco, according to Ohio Secretary of State documents. Of the 31.3 acres in question, 11.2 are in Vienna and 20.1 are in Howland.
The seven parcels in question sit near a Niles subdivision off Niles Vienna Road. If annexed into the city, Niles city limits would reach to state Route 11.
Law director Phil Zuzolo said the agreement will, in most cases, put the decision of whether to annex into the city into the hands of the residents in question.
"For most annexations, the property owner's desires will win out," Zuzolo said.
Following the decision by Niles council, Howland trustees have a special meeting at 6 p.m. Wednesday to discuss the agreement and Vienna trustees will meet at 7 p.m. Monday.
Officials said the terms sheet is available for public review on the Niles city website at www.cityofniles.com under press releases and the Howland website at HowlandTownship.org.