BY PHILLIP PINA
The Cincinnati Enquirer
CLEVES -- A developer has withdrawn a request to annex a proposed subdivision into Cleves to wait out a battle between residents over dissolving the village.
In February, the Drees Co. asked Hamilton County commissioners to allow it to annex 93 acres into the village to expand Drees' Coleman Woods subdivision. A hearing was scheduled for April 22. Earlier this week, the company asked that its request be withdrawn.
"It didn't make sense to annex into a village that may soon be dissolved," said Stephen Hunt, an attorney representing Drees. He stressed that the company was not taking sides in the Cleves debate. In March, a group of homeowners called Team EFFECT -- which stands for Ensuring the Financial Future and Enhancing Cleves for Tomorrow -- announced its plans to dissolve the village of 2,300 residents into surrounding Miami Township. The group plans to petition residents to put an issue on the November ballot.
With work still progressing on the first phase of Coleman Woods, Drees said it has the time to wait for the election results before developing the land proposed for annexation, Mr. Hunt said.
Drees is planning about 140 homes in the first phase, and has about a year of construction left on those. The additional 93 acres would house about 100 more homes.
Larry Loebker, a Team EFFECT spokesman, said the group was pleased with the Drees decision.
His group is promoting disbanding the village to lower the tax burden on homeowners. By dissolving into Miami Township, homeowners would be part of a larger tax base where tax rates are lower.
The owner of a $100,000 home in Cleves pays about $1,888.21 in property taxes, including amounts levied by the village, county, schools and special districts, according to the Hamilton County auditor's office. If that house were in Miami Township, the tax bill would be $1,363.16.
Team EFFECT said the annexation would be a "Band Aid remedy" for solving Cleves' tax problem.
Village leaders had hoped the 300 homes planned on its outskirts, including the Drees subdivision, would add to the local tax base and enhance Cleves' financial standing.
Cleves Mayor Harold Duncan said he has not heard from Drees about the annexation withdrawal.
He said it was ironic that a group saying a wider tax base is needed to lower Cleves' taxes would applaud a decision to delay an annexation to do just that.
"It didn't make sense to annex into a village that may soon be dissolved.' -- Stephen Hunt, attorney representing Drees
