Yellow Springs annexes 34 acres, site of proposed housing development

A photo of the Village of Yellow Springs sign on East Hyde Road. Eileen McClory/ Staff

A photo of the Village of Yellow Springs sign on East Hyde Road. Eileen McClory/ Staff

Yellow Springs village council voted unanimously on Monday night to annex approximately 33 acres of land south of the village, where the Oberer Companies, a semi-custom home builder based in Miamisburg, plans to build a new housing development.

The annexation will not take effect for a month. The development is not finalized.

The new development is planned for about 52 acres south of the village. Around 18 acres of the land is already in the village, but approximately 34 acres are in Miami Twp.

A map of the annexation tract in Yellow Springs. Credit: Mark Freistedt

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Oberer says it is anticipating having a wide price range at these homes. Now that the land is annexed, the projected number of homes that would be built in the entire development would be around 138. If the land had not been annexed, Oberer would have built closer to 113 new homes. Yellow Springs lots allow smaller and denser lots than Miami Twp.

Available homes have become a problem in Yellow Springs as the housing stock has gotten older and more expensive in recent years.

Oberer was going to build a development at that site whether the land was annexed or not, Village Council Member Kevin Stokes pointed out before the vote on Monday.

“One of the big things that I’ve been sharing with folks is the overall benefits of annexation. That annexation, in and of itself, is not bad,” Stokes said.

Village Manager Josué Salmerón said overall, the village would be getting more benefits from the development than the amount the village will have to pay to improve the area.

“It does make more money if we annex into the village,” he said.

Salmerón told the council that the schools, sewer and water facilities have the capacity to serve the new residents. The costs would come in a possible improvement to Spillan Road and improvements to the electrical grid. Salmerón said the income generated from the development would help pay for those improvements.

Village Council President Brian Housh noted Oberer committed to a traffic study. Some residents worried that the development would cause additional traffic on Spillan Road and East Hyde Road.

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