Annexation for Upper Arlington project approved

The Franklin County commissioners have approved the annexation of less than an acre of Clinton Township land into the city of Upper Arlington for use in an 11-story development planned on Lane Avenue.

No one spoke in opposition to the request to shift 0.61 of an acre along North Star Road during a public hearing Tuesday. The commissioners’ consideration was required as part of the regular annexation process, with representatives of the city and the developer of the Arlington Gateway project on hand to answer questions.

The Upper Arlington City Council signed off on the project in August.

The development will include ground-floor retail and business space, upper-story office space and 200-plus apartments, according to the city. The tallest part of the building will be in the center of the property; adjacent six-story sections will house apartments.

The project will replace buildings along Lane Avenue west of Ohio State University that now house a Pizza Hut, Half Price Books and other businesses.

The commissioners also adopted Tuesday a symbolic resolution voicing the county’s “unconditional support” for public employees’ collective-bargaining rights.

The move came a couple of weeks after two class-action lawsuits were filed in federal court in Columbus challenging “fair share” union fees deducted from government employees’ paychecks. A U.S. Supreme Court decision in June found such mandatory fees unconstitutional.

Two Franklin County employees are among the plaintiffs in one of the suits.

“This attempt to undercut public employees and their families could jeopardize their economic well-being and further erode the hardfought protections that cost the blood, sweat, and tears of generations of workers before us,” the commissioners declared in the resolution about the court decision.