COLUMBUS — The rush appears to be on for cities to annex neighboring land before a law changing the rules takes effect in three months.

        Gov. Bob Taft signed the bill Friday that overhauls annexation law for the first time in 35 years.

        “They know that it's going to take 90 days once it's signed today to become law; and so everything they can get by legally, they're going to do,” said Richard Kelley, an Allen Township trustee in Hancock County.

        The law will give townships more say in annexation attempts by Ohio cities. It will also require municipalities to make up part of the revenue that townships lose when cities annex their land.

        Conservative state lawmakers gave the bill high priority this session after former House Speaker Jo Ann Davidson, a Reynoldsburg Republican, refused to bring it to a vote last year.

        Opponents fear it gives too much power to townships and will increase suburban sprawl while weakening cities' ability to grow.

        In booming Warren County in Southwest Ohio, the city of Mason has received at least six annexation requests since May. All are from property owners trying to beat the new law, said City Manager Scot Lahrmer.

        “Mason is a very attractive community and property owners who want to be part of Mason have filed annexation petitions to join us. We have three that have just been filed within the last week and a half,” Mr. Lahrmer said Friday.

        According to census data, Warren County grew 39 percent in population between 1990 and 2000. Mason's population jumped from 11,452 in 1990 to 22,016 in 2000. Its land area has spread from 12 to 18 square miles.

        In Medina County in northeast Ohio, commissioners have received seven annexation requests since May, including five totaling more than 450 acres from Guilford Township residents who want to be annexed into Seville.

        Seville, population 2,160, grew 19 percent between 1990 and 2000, according to census data.

        Medina County commissioners expect another 300 acres in annexation requests to Wadsworth before the law takes effect.

        “They're fearful of being really bombarded now,” said Pam Terrill, commissioners' clerk.

        The rush has made a lot of people in Guilford Township unhappy, Gene Fulton, a township trustee for 36 years, said Friday.

        “It made me feel like maybe this law wasn't that good,” he said. “We worked on it for years to get something, then when it finally gets here they all dive in real quick.”

        In central Ohio, a group of homeowners in an upscale subdivision on the Tartan Fields golf course is trying to get enough signatures to petition for annexation to Dublin before the law takes effect, The Delaware Gazette reported Thursday.

        On a Web site pushing the proposal, the group notes the city services that Dublin, a Columbus suburb, can provide.

        The new law “will sufficiently complicate the annexation, to delay realistic annexation prospects into the City of Dublin for several years,” the Web site said.

        Michael Cochran, executive director of the Ohio Township Association, said the group expected a rush of filings before the law takes effect.

        “It's just something that can't be avoided,” Mr. Cochran said before Friday's bill signing. “I think it's foolish — this bill is not as threatening to them as they've been led to believe by some of their representatives.”

Officer under fire kills man; city remains calm
Haas' record shows praise, discipline
Blacks seek respect with protection
On dangerous beat, task force officers 'safe, courteous'
Spiral of mental illness led to death
Best bet is leave flood plain, Corps tells Fairfax officials
Boyfriend charged in tot's death
Candidates' ballot slot up to board
Looking for tips from Boston
'Most wanted' list trimmed
Outbreak of shigella rages on
Police investigate robbery, assault
Lifeguard saves 4-year-old from drowning
Tristate A.M. Report
HOWARD: Neighborhoods
MCNUTT: Big Brother
Hamilton man won't fight abuse charges
Lebanon manager, 3 others indicted
No bond in rape-murder case
Trucker accused in abduction case
Woman severely hurt after train, car collide
Doctor accused of faking injections
More like Taft, poll finds
Ohio cities in new land rush
Oldest active federal judge, 95, to retire Aug. 31
Study inconclusive on link between school site, cancers
Taft signs bill subjecting teens to Megan's Law
Campbell buses get nicer digs
Covington gets $550K for rehab
Husband extradited
Kentucky News Briefs
RV fire, wrecks, clog I-71 and I-75
State offers help to finish GED before rules and standards change