FAIRFIELD COUNTY, Ohio — Some members of the Violet Township Community are not happy after the board of trustees accepted a settlement that would bring more housing to the area.
Several people voiced their concerns and reasons why they didn’t want Rockford Homes, a developer, to move into their community.
At the end of the meeting, the Violet Township Board of Trustees voted to approve the proposed settlement between the township and Rockford Homes.
Steven Herb lives in the community and said they’ve been fighting against this for years. He shared the same concerns with many others at the meeting.
Herb believes the development will overcrowd the schools and cause safety concerns with traffic.
"As a community grows, it morphs into a different shape. But if financially it can't keep up, then it's going to negatively impact,” Herb said.
Board members told 10TV that the developer wanted to build a subdivision called Sycamore Grove that would sit along Tollgate Road.
Last year, the developer sued the township after board trustees denied rezoning.
In the lawsuit, the developer claimed the township “deprived Rockford Homes of its right to be free from arbitrary zoning restrictions and for equal treatment under the law."
Violet Township Administrator Vince Utterback said the board accepted the settlement on Wednesday because it was the smartest decision.
"I think it was a lose, lose situation. They were either going to build it under the current R-2 situation or they were going to build what we thought the better subdivision with mounding and all the other amenities to it, and that's the one we passed,” Utterback said.
Utterback said there will also be green spaces and trails.
According to the proposed settlement, the development would build 239 homes. Herb stands by his belief that this will interrupt the peacefulness of the township.
"Out of control growth, and this is just going to perpetuate it,” Herb said.
The attorney for Rockford Homes was at the meeting. When we asked him for an interview, he denied it.