Section 709.192. Annexation agreements

(A) The legislative authority of one municipal corporation, by ordinance or resolution, and the board of township trustees of one or more townships, by resolution, may enter into annexation agreements under this section.

(B) An annexation agreement may be entered into for any period of time and may be amended at any time in the same manner as it was initially authorized.

(C) Annexation agreements may provide for any of the following:

(1) The territory to be annexed;

(2) Any periods of time during which no annexations will be made and any areas that will not be annexed;

(3) Land use planning matters;

(4) The provision of joint services and permanent improvements within incorporated or unincorporated areas;

(5) The provision of services and improvements by a municipal corporation in the unincorporated areas;

(6) The provision of services and improvements by a township within the territory of a municipal corporation;

(7) The payment of service fees to a municipal corporation by a township;

(8) The payment of service fees to a township by a municipal corporation;

(9) The reallocation of the minimum mandated levies established pursuant to section 5705.31 of the Revised Code between a municipal corporation and a township in areas annexed after the effective date of this section;

(10) The issuance of notes and bonds and other debt obligations by a municipal corporation or township for public purposes authorized by or under an annexation agreement and provision for the allocation of the payment of the principal of, interest on, and other charges and costs of issuing and servicing the repayment of the debt;

(11) Agreements by a municipal corporation and township, with owners or developers of land to be annexed, or with both those landowners and land developers, concerning the provision of public services, facilities, and permanent improvements;

(12) The application of tax abatement statutes within the territory covered by the annexation agreement subsequent to its execution;

(13) Changing township boundaries under Chapter 503. of the Revised Code to exclude newly annexed territory from the original township and providing services to that territory;

(14) Payments in lieu of taxes, if any, to be paid to a township by a municipal corporation, which payments may be in addition to or in lieu of other payments required by law to be made to the township by that municipal corporation;

(15) Any other matter pertaining to the annexation or development of publicly or privately owned territory.

(D) Annexation agreements shall not be in derogation of the powers granted to municipal corporations by Article XVIII, Ohio Constitution, by any other provisions of the Ohio Constitution, or by the provisions of a municipal charter, nor shall municipal corporations and townships agree to share proceeds of any tax levy, although those proceeds may be used to make payments authorized in an annexation agreement.

(E) If any party to an annexation agreement believes another party has failed to perform its part of any provision of that agreement, including the failure to make any payment of moneys due under the agreement, that party shall give notice to the other party clearly stating what breach has occurred. The party receiving the notice has ninety days from the receipt of that notice to cure the breach. If the breach has not been cured within that ninety-day period, the party that sent the notice may sue for recovery of the money due under the agreement, sue for specific enforcement of the agreement, or terminate the agreement upon giving notice of termination to all the other parties.

(F) In order to promote economic development or to provide appropriate state functions and services to any part of the state, the state may become a party to an annexation agreement upon the approval of the director of development and with the written consent of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation and each of the boards of township trustees that are parties to the agreement.

(G) The board of county commissioners, by resolution, or any person, upon request, may become a party to an annexation agreement, but only upon the approval of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation and each of the boards of township trustees that are parties to the agreement, except that, if the state is a party to the agreement, the director of development is responsible for giving the approval.

(H) The powers granted by this section and any annexation agreement entered into under this section shall be liberally construed to allow parties to these agreements to carry out the agreements' provisions relevant to government improvements, facilities, and services, and to promote and support economic development and the creation and preservation of economic opportunities.

Effective Date: 10-26-2001