The Advocate - September 20, 2006
Deal Reached for Kraner Land
Officials look to acquire 600 acres in Granville district, contingent on bond levy
By Charles A. Peterson

A 600-acre section of land in the Granville school district ripe for housing development instead could remain open space as a result of a deal struck Friday between landowner William Kraner and Granville Township.

But township residents will have a final say about whether or not it will really happen.

Township officials signed an agreement Friday to acquire about 600 acres in the northeast section of the Granville Exempted Village School District for $10 million, which amounts to nearly $16,700 per acre, township trustee Jim Havens estimated.

Kraner would finance the deal for 20 years at interest rates of 5 percent in its first five years and 4.25 percent for the remaining 15 years.

The acquisition is contingent, however, on passage of a bond levy during a special election in February 2007 that would raise the necessary funding for the purchase.

If the acquisition goes through, it will prevent the construction of as many as 600 homes, Havens estimated, were the property developed. If there were an average of two students per household, it would keep 1,200 students out of the school district.

"For Granville, it's good because we are trying to keep the community small and from growing too quickly," said Jackie McCombs, a Realtor who has children in school. "It will help us keep the small-town feel, which so many of us liked and moved to Granville for."

The property, which is in the Granville school district, is located on both sides of Price Road in northeast Granville Township and into Newark Township.

Havens, who for two years has been negotiating with Kraner for a deal, said it now is up to voters. Public meetings will be conducted to gather input and views before the special election in February. The ballot language will state the land would become park land, although it's possible some would be farmed.

"He's giving us a chance to determine the future of our community," Havens said. "The citizens of Granville will have a direct voice. You really can't ask for any more than that."

Kraner said Wednesday night, when trustees gave their chairman the authority to sign such a pact, he was having trouble making up his mind. But the loss of his adult daughter, Sheryl, two years ago to cancer made it easier to let go of the land.

The hardest thing I did today was pick up that pen," Kraner said Friday after the daylong negotiation session. "It was the hardest task I've had in a long time."

Based on estimated real property valuations, Havens projected millage would be 2.5 for 5 years and 3.0 for 15 years.

If the levy is passed, Kraner has agreed to reduce the purchase price by $100,000 to reimburse the township for its costs in conducting the property studies and paying for the special election and bond counsel fees.

The sale also would be subject to and conditioned on an initial 75-day study and inspection period during which the township would have the property reviewed for environmental, survey, title, appraisal, zoning and engineering conditions.

About 480 acres of the land are located in Newark Township, were zoning codes allow more dense housing developments than Granville Township standards do.

Kraner had planned to build a town-center development there, with Price Road becoming a boulevard.

Township resident Paul Treece, a member of the township greenspace committee, which prioritizes properties to be considered for greenspace acquisition, said the Kraner property clearly came out on top in the group's last meeting.

"We did have several meetings and looked at the consequences of properties that didn't come under the Granville Township zoning ordinance but were in the Granville school district. The largest and probably scariest is the Kraner property," he said.