Officials from Union County and fast-growing Jerome Township signed an agreement Wednesday that opens up 750 acres for development.
It also creates a new four-member board that oversee how tax revenues that development creates will be spent for new roads and other infrastructure.
The agreement comes after months of negotiations between the township and county.
County and township officials clashed over how Jerome Township was using money from tax incentives for roads and other improvements.
Union County officials claimed the money benefited developers more than the community at large.
The agreement includes not only the county and township, but also the Schottenstein Real Estate Group.
Under the agreement, Houchard Road will be extended, and that will open up 750 acres in the southern part of the township for development. The land is in the Jerome Township Innovation District.
The agreement also calls for the creation of the Jerome Township-Union County Cooperative Board, with two members each from the township and county.
They will identify infrastructure projects and how tax-increment financing will be used to fund them. Tax-increment financing is when tax money that development generates is diverted to fund roads, sewers and similar improvements.
Union County Administrator Bill Narducci told WOSU he believes county residents and township officials are working together more than before.
"If we’re not working with each other, it creates a mess," Narducci said. "The intent is to see a more aligned process that is more responsive to development and the infrastructure it requires."
Jerome Township Trustees Chairman Barry Adler said in a statement that the board looks forward to working together to advance mutual interests to benefit township residents and businesses.
Jerome Township sits in the southern part of Union County next to Dublin. U.S. Route 33 runs through the township, connecting Interstate 270 and Marysville.
That helps make the township's location attractive to developers for commercial and residential projects.
And that is helping to fuel Union County's growth. The county is one of the fastest-growing in Ohio. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that the county grew by 11% between 2020 and 2023 to about 70,000.
In November, Jerome Township voters defeated a limited home-rule measure on the ballot that would have given township officials more control.
