Trending
LISBON - The City of Salem filed a notice of appeal in Columbiana County Court of Common Pleas on Tuesday regarding the recent court ruling affirming the denial of the proposed annexation of a property on Beechwood Road in Perry Township.
Salem is appealing the decision to the Seventh District Court of Appeals in Youngstown. On June 3, Common Pleas Judge Megan Bickerton ruled the property was not contiguous to the city, citing a letter from county Engineer Bert Dawson who determined the lots were not contiguous to the portion of Beechwood Road located in the city of Salem. Last year, the Columbiana County commissioners denied the annexation. Bickerton upheld the commissioners' decision.
The dispute between the city and Perry Township surrounding the property began in April of 2023 when Sean and Laurie Butcher were notified by the city that they had to seek annexation or have their water and sewer service cut off in accordance with a deed restriction mandating they annex into the city should their property ever become contiguous with the city in exchange for receiving city water and sewer stemming back to when the properties were originally developed. Had the Butchers' petition for annexation, which they testified to the commissioners was filed under duress, not been denied by the commissioners on Oct. 23, 2024, three more properties with similar restrictions would also have become contiguous, beginning a chain reaction which would cause 33 properties in stages to eventually become contiguous and likewise be forced to annex.
The city argued that Butchers' property became contiguous following the completion of a 29.54-acre property into the city industrial park over a year ago.
Perry Township officials disagree. They maintain the property cannot be annexed legally as it is not actually contiguous to the city. Perry Township presented two legal opinions that assert that the city industrial park and the Butcher's property are separated by the northern half of Beechwood Road.
The commissioners denied the petition on the grounds that the property was not sufficiently contiguous and that the annexation would not "serve the general good of the territory."
Bickerton, too, cited a lack of contiguity between the properties and agreed with the commissioners' findings that the general good of the territory would not be served by the annexation which could create issues with street maintenance.
Salem City council voted June 12 to appeal the Columbiana County Court of Common Pleas' ruling. The decision came in a split 5-2 vote and after City Law Director Brooke Zellers strongly recommended filing the appeal as he felt some issues raised by the city were significant and had not been addressed during the initial appeal.
(Mary Ann Greier and Morgan Ahart contributed to this story)