BATH TOWNSHIP ─ After months of negotiations, the Bath Township Board of Trustees has signed a walking path removal and replacement agreement with the local developer of the Waterford Landing subdivision in Fairborn.
The township trustees put pen to paper during the Aug. 2 township meeting on a four-page agreement, with six exhibits attached, between Design Properties XIII, LTD, an Ohio limited liability company, and the trustees. Lance Oaks, project manager for CESO, Inc., submitted the written proposal to township trustees in late July, which was forwarded to Greene County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Stephanie Hayden for review. The growing housing development of CESO, Inc. is located directly east of the township property at 1006 Yellow Springs-Fairfield Road. Ryan Homes is the contractor.
Township Trustee John Martin said the signed agreement officially resolves the encroachment issue between the developer and the township regarding a section of the walking path and portion of the parking lot in the township park. The park is located south of the township office building on a large portion of the 10.197-acre parcel owned by the township.
Township Trustee Steven Ross previously pointed out that the township trustees had made a number of improvements to the parcel throughout the years, including the addition of the paved walking path for public use 24 years ago. He said this fact was taken into consideration when reaching an amicable agreement between the township and the developer.
According to the written agreement, Design Properties will develop the Waterford Landing property into a number of individual lots for the construction of single-family homes. The trustees have agreed to allow Design Properties to remove about one-eighth of a mile of the walking path that encroaches on the western portion of the Waterford Landing property, on the condition that Design Properties replaces the existing walking path.
The replacement walking path, which will begin just north of the parking lot, will veer about 12 feet west of the existing walking path, along the eastern side of the basketball courts, and will be rerouted northwest through a section of trees that stand approximately 30 feet west of the existing path. The replacement path will then continue northwest where it will be reconnected to the northern section of the current walking path about 74 feet west of the existing path on the eastern side.
The construction of the replacement path will not result in the demolition or removal of any trees on the township parcel. However, the project will involve the removal of an old tree stump that would directly block the replacement path and any tree roots that may interfere with the construction of the paved pathway.
The township trustees and Design Properties have agreed that the replacement path will be constructed of the same materials and specifications as the existing walking path. Once the replacement path is completed, Design Properties will remove the existing walking path. Design Properties will also be responsible for the expenses associated with the construction of the replacement path and the removal of the existing path which encroaches the Waterford Landing property.
Design Properties has additionally agreed to reconfigure the Waterford Landing property and transfer a portion of the property to the township. This deed transfer will allow part of the walking path on the eastern side of the township park and the parking lot to remain intact.
Township Trustee Tom Pitstick stated that Waterford Landing would construct an open space with a retention pond that would border the southern part of the existing path on the eastern side of the township parcel. He also noted that Design Properties had staked out the proposed location of the replacement path so the township trustees could inspect and approve the placement of the new path before construction begins.
“I examined the staked pathway today, and everything looks good to me,” Pitstick said. “Basically, Design Properties will be relocating a portion of the walking path at its own expense.”
According to plans recently approved by the Fairborn City Council, 37-single-family residential lots, ranging from 6,336 to 9,629 square feet, will be added to an undeveloped 14-acre tract, known as Section nine, in the Waterford Landing. This move sparked expressed concerns from township trustees who previously pointed out to the Fairborn Planning Board that the back yards of a number of potential homeowners in Section nine would border the fence around the road department facility, as well as the road salt storage bin.
“This will not be a pretty site for anyone who will eventually own one of those lots; and at times, it will be noisy,” Ross said during a previous township meeting. “At least, we pointed out this fact.”