On Thursday, the Lorain County Board of Commissioners approved the City of Oberlin’s plan to annex 142 acres of land from Pittsfield township. The expansion is part of Oberlin’s plan to annex 211 acres of land it purchased from the neighboring Township in 2022. The City is entering the planning and development stage of the new industrial park on the land, which it believes will increase tax revenue and create new jobs for Oberlin residents. 

According to Carrie Porter, the director of planning and development, infrastructure is being planned and developed to attract light industry, which is less capital-intensive manufacturing, mostly aimed at creating consumer goods. 

“We’re going to be looking for more light manufacturing, not heavy industry, smoke stacks, lots and lots of truck traffic,” Porter said. “It’ll be more clean, light manufacturing. Right now, we’re figuring out what industries we really do want to attract. You want to size your infrastructure in your park to who you want to attract.” 

While the purchase was made in 2022, the process is spurred by the 2024 Oberlin Comprehensive Plan, which noted industrial development along US-20 where the property is located as a valuable opportunity and goal to expand the City’s tax base. 

Currently, Oberlin residents face a uniquely high property tax burden due to the high percentage of tax exempt land in the City, Porter explained. Between the College, the 25 churches in Oberlin, and the offices of two state and two federal offices, the Federal Aviation Administration and Ohio Department of Transportation, 47 percent of the land in Oberlin is tax exempt. Taxes are still needed to fund City efforts, such as the new elementary school, so, accordingly, almost 50 percent of Oberlin land is responsible for 100 percent of the City’s property taxes. 

Initially, some Pittsfield residents and representatives were resistant to the purchase and development, voicing concerns at the Oct. 7 City Council meeting. 

Andrew Lake, an elected Trustee of the Pittsfield Township, expressed discontent on the part of the town at the meeting. 

“Oberlin City being a college town with a nationally recognized school in its midst and Pittsfield Township being a township full of family homes and farms, the maintenance of culture is something that has been brought to me as a concern by residents of Pittsfield Township,” Lake, who was speaking formally on behalf of all the residents of Pittsfield, said at the meeting.“Imagine, if you would, Tappan Square being cleared and tilled and corn and soybeans planted there, and combines and grain wagons going up and down Main Street to harvest those crops. … That would be wild and outlandish in a college town, and similarly, I believe there’s a large position of the residents of Pittsfield Township that are concerned Pittsfield is going to turn into something other than family homes and farms.” 

This is not the only conflict over annexation and development efforts between Pittsfield and Oberlin. In 2015, a legal battle ensued between the Lorain County Joint Vocational School and the City of Oberlin. Oberlin sued the school in June of 2015 in an attempt to annex the school in keeping with a 1971 agreement. Ultimately, the school succeeded in resisting the effort. 

None of the three Pittsfield Township trustees responded to the Review’s request for comment. The trustees contacted include Lake, and Mark McConnell, who voiced opposition to Oberlin’s annexation efforts in the case of JVS. 

In this case, however, Interim City Manager Jon Clark recently met with Lake, and according to Porter, the meeting went well. 

“We want to have open communication from the two subdivisions,” Porter said. “We don’t want to do anything that’s going to be bad for the surrounding homeowners.” 

Overall, the City of Oberlin believes the development will be an asset to the town in terms of tax revenue, jobs for current residents, and opportunities for Oberlin College students and new residents to the town. Those interested in the story should keep an eye out for further communication from the City Management department on the status of the project.