BATAVIA, Ohio — Batavia Village Council voted Monday to consent to an annexation petition covering land along State Route 32 near Herold Road, clearing the way for the request to advance to a Clermont County Commissioners hearing while leaving final approval of both the annexation and any development undecided.
The vote fulfilled a legal deadline the village faced under Ohio law, which requires a municipality to respond within 20 days after a property owner files an annexation petition with the county. Only a landowner, not a municipality, can initiate this type of annexation petition, the village said in a Facebook post explaining the process. Council’s Monday action addressed two matters: consenting to the request and specifying which municipal services, including police and street services, the village could extend to the property if the annexation is completed.
Monday’s vote followed through on a special meeting Batavia Village Council had scheduled for Sept. 30 to formally respond to the petition after Clermont County notified the village the request had been filed.
The annexation is not final. The Clermont County Commissioners will hold a hearing on the petition Oct. 21, and the village said it may need to take additional action even after that hearing concludes. No development on the property has been approved either; any future development proposal would require separate public hearings before the village’s Planning and Zoning Commission and before Council itself, with residents able to speak at both, the village said.
The village posted the full text of the pre-annexation agreement covering the property at bataviaoh.gov and said it would share any new meeting dates as they are scheduled. Village officials said they would answer factual questions about the process in the comments of their Facebook post but would not use the comment section to debate the merits of the annexation, instead directing residents with concerns to attend a Council meeting, contact Village Hall or request an in-person conversation.
Batavia Village Council is led by Mayor C. Scott Runck, who was sworn in Jan. 1, 2024, after previously serving on council and on the Batavia Local School District Board of Education. Council’s six members are Vice Mayor Steve Staton and members Laura Zagar, Mark Wilson, Jim Owens, Randy Dorsey and Tom Smith, according to the village. Batavia, established in 1814, serves as the seat of Clermont County government.
The information contained in this story was obtained from the Village of Batavia.