LEBANON — Some Turtlecreek Township residents and officials are upset about Lebanon's efforts to annex their land into the city.

        “It's not what people want,” township Trustee Dan George said Wednesday. “This is the last grab (Lebanon) can make before the law changes.”

        City Attorney Mark Yurick sent letters to nearly 300 township residents last week asking them to support the annexation of their neighborhoods. The majority of them already had signed pre-annexation agreements, he said.

        Owners' responses are due back to the city Oct. 19 — exactly a week before changes in the state annexation law take effect. Cities, including Lebanon, have fought the law as being overly favorable to townships.

        The neighborhoods to be annexed include Calloway Farms, off Turtlecreek-Union Road; Kings Acres, off Lebanon Road; and Hart Road near the Miller Road intersection.

        William Long of Hart Road is among those who are concerned. He signed a pre-annexation agreement with the city when he bought his home in 1992 so the city would extend water service to him. Such agreements essentially promise that the property owner will agree to annexation when the city seeks it, Mr. Yurick said.

        And Mr. Long isn't necessarily opposed to annexation, he's just upset about Lebanon's methods: “Everybody says the same thing — why do they sneak around doing it? It may be a good thing, but the way they're presenting it ...”

        Mr. George's objections run deeper. He believes the city is reaching beyond the pre-annexed areas to grab a wider swath of land around the city. Landowners can be forcibly annexed if they are lumped in with an area where at least 50 percent of the other owners support annexation.

        However, the city is requesting annexation of less than an acre each of four 80- to 100-acre parcels near Calloway Farms, according to City Engineer Scott Brunka. That's mostly to avoid having right-of-ways divided between Lebanon and Union Township, he said.

        Turtlecreek Township is holding an informational meeting about the annexation requests at 7 p.m. Monday at its administration building on Ohio 63. It's open to anyone, Mr. George said, but Lebanon officials have scheduled another meeting for the same night.

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