Possible annexation of 65 acres from Amherst Twp. to Elyria unrelated to mega site

A petition to annex just over 65 acres of Amherst Township to the city of Elyria was to appear this week before Lorain County commissioners for a vote but was withdrawn before the board could vote on it. The property is not connected to the 622-acre mega site development in New Russia Township, a representative of the petitioner said Friday. The petition by Sharon Riccardi and LuLo LLC was to annex 65.2559 acres of property to Elyria. The property is north of Albrecht Road and east of Bechtel Road, southwest of Elyria city limits. Commissioners acknowledged both the petition and its withdrawal at their meeting Friday but said they had no further information on it. Sharon Mickelson of Bechtel Road in Amherst Township approached the county board at its meeting Tuesday to ask what it knew about the petition. She said she was worried the property would end up part of the mega site development in neighboring New Russia Township. "I'm in a quandary as to why they would want to take that land away from the township to give it to Elyria," Mickelson told commissioners. The application was made March 4, then withdrawn March 9. Petitioners withdrawing their annexation requests is common. Attorney Jon Clark, the agent for Riccardi and LuLo, said he withdrew the petition so he could better coordinate the request with Elyria city officials and Elyria City Council. Council would have to pass an ordinance within 20 days of the petition regarding services they would provide, Clark said. He said the property will be entirely residential. "There is no connection with what people are referring to as the mega site," he said. If the 65-acre annexation petition is successful, Clark said Elyria would control zoning and that he hoped that would reassure anyone concerned about a connection to the mega site. Clark said he didn't have any other specific knowledge about what the land might become, and the role of the commissioners in the process is just to make sure the request complies with the law. The city can then accept it or not accept it, he said. Clark, who also is law director for Oberlin, said he didn't have a timeline for when he would resubmit the petition to commissioners. As for the mega site, that involves a developer asking on behalf of four landowners in New Russia Township to approve a request to rezone 622 acres from residential and general business to industrial park. The request has been met with significant community resistance. New Russia Township trustees will meet Tuesday to vote on the request. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.