Over the past two weeks, three separate rural Lewis County city councils have approved new co-management interlocal agreements (ILA) with Lewis County government to help foster development in the cities’ urban growth areas (UGA).
The first was the Morton City Council, which approved the ILA during the council’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 27.
Then, on Monday, Nov. 3, the Toledo City Council approved an ILA as well.
This was followed by ILA discussion at the Vader City Council on Wednesday, Nov. 5, during which councilors elected to wait and see if county officials made city attorney-recommended changes to the ILA.
UGAs are required to be designated for annexation by city staff as a part of the city comprehensive plan mapping out projected growth over the next 10 to 20 years.
“They’re not going to (annex) yet, but probably, likely in the future we’re going to,” Morton City Attorney Jim Buzzard said during the Oct. 27 meeting. “It’s still county property, but we’re going to kind of have it conform to city rules so that it’s all uniform in the future.”
Per the ILAs, county staff will coordinate with various city staff to ensure any proposed developments in the UGAs will meet both county and city codes. This ensures a smooth transition when the cities finally do move to annex UGA land.
In Toledo, there aren’t many UGA properties currently left to annex, so city staff added they planned on seeking an additional ILA with the county for co-management of development and zoning Toledo’s urban reserve areas.
Urban reserve areas are parcels of land outside of a city’s UGA that are designated for future incorporation into the UGA for development over the next 25 to 50 years.
In Toledo’s neighboring community, Vader Mayor Joe Schey explained Vader City Attorney Jennifer Robertson had reviewed the ILA.
“I’ve shown this to you in the past, this UGA co-management document. It has gone through several revisions,” Schey said. “... Lewis County has already approved this. They consider it to be in effect as of Oct. 1. We did send it to the attorney. She did reply today with a few additions or changes she would like.”
Considering the ILA had already been approved by Lewis County, Schey wasn’t sure Robertson’s recommended amendments would be made. Following the Nov. 5 Vader City Council meeting, Schey stated the council may have to approve the ILA without the amendments at their next meeting.
