SYMMES TOWNSHIP — Residents of Camp Dennison let out a big hurrah Thursday when they learned that their neighbor, the city of Indian Hill, had reached a deal to buy a former gravel pit to protect the area's water supply.

        “This is exactly what we were looking for. It protects our aquifer and keeps the area as is,” said Michael Howell, president of the Camp Dennison Civic League. The group hired a lawyer when they learned that three Symmes Township developers planned to transform 300-plus industrial acres into “The Wharf at Symmes,” a $200 million luxury community of 600 homes along Ohio 126.

        They were worried about lawn chemicals leaching into the property's lakes and contaminating the underground aquifer. Symmes Township and Indian Hill residents voiced the same concerns.

        Mike Burns, Indian Hill city manager, fielded daily calls from angry residents before he approached developers Darrell Leibson and Tim and Greg Hensley last month and asked if they'd be interested in negotiating a deal that allowed the city to buy the property. The developers had an option to buy it from Martin Marietta Corp.

        The developers signed a contract Wednesday. Indian Hill will officially own the former gravel pit by May 1.

        Mr. Burns vowed that no homes would be built on the property. Preserving the land as park space is a possibility, he said.

        “Whatever happens, it will be non-commercial, non-residential in nature,” he said.

        Confidentiality prevents Mr. Burns from sharing the exact cost, but it was more than $2.6 million, the required bid that Martin Marietta requested in the fall, he said.

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