Officials get first annexation petition
NEWARK — The Licking County Commissioners have received the first of two expected annexation petitions from Jersey Township property owners seeking to annex into the city of New Albany.
The petition, accompanied by an annexation agreement, came from 117 property owners for 1,689 acres within the area planned for a $20 billion Intel Corporation computer chip production facility in Licking County.
The property owners in the area to be annexed, as well as adjacent areas, includes 42 Green Chapel Road addresses, 25 each on Clover Valley Road and Miller Road, 23 on Mink Street, 10 on Jug Street, eight on Bermuda Drive and one on Harrison Road.
Intel announced Jan. 21 plans to begin construction this year on the computer chip operation, providing 3,000 jobs when production begins in 2025. It could possibly become the largest semiconductor production site in the world. The project is also expected to create 7,000 construction jobs and 10,000 indirect jobs.
New Albany, which has previously annexed land in Jersey Township for its Personal Care and Beauty Campus, and then data centers for Google, Amazon and Facebook, planned to annex 3,190 acres of Jersey Township land for the Intel development.
The annexation area for Intel is generally bordered by Green Chapel Road to the north, Mink Street to the east, Jug Street Road to the south and the Franklin County line to the west. The massive annexation will give New Albany almost half of Jersey Township, including most of the land west of Mink Street.
A 50-year annexation agreement between the city of New Albany and Jersey Township states: “The city and township desire to maintain a cooperative relationship that will foster economic development within the agreement area and to provide for infrastructure improvements that will serve the residents and property owners of the city and township.”
If New Albany grants any exemption or abatement of commercial real property taxes, or directs payments through Tax Increment Financing, the city will pay the township 50% of the difference between the abated and unabated tax revenue the township would have received.
The agreement also states the city and township agree that New Albany may need to make improvements to Mink Street, Jug Street, Green Chapel Road, Miller Road and Beech Road.
The Licking County Commissioners and New Albany entered into a separate agreement for the maintenance of Mink Street. The agreement, dated Jan. 27, replaces an agreement from May 2021, and provides that New Albany will be responsible for maintenance and improvements to Mink Street from Green Chapel Road to Worthington Road.
The city will allow the county to review construction plans for the area, but New Albany has final authority over “design, construction and inspection of the improvements to Mink Street.
The city will be responsible for all traffic control devices and street lights there now and installed in the future. New Albany will have primary responsibility for snow removal in the area, and Licking County secondary responsibility. kmallett@newarkadvocate.com 740-973-4539
Twitter: @kmallett1958