PICKERINGTON, Ohio — A proposal to turn more than 200 acres of farmland into a new development will be heard by Pickerington City Council on Tuesday.
“I feel like it’s probably a forgone conclusion,” Lori Kelley said.
Kelley and her husband, Kelly McClellan, have lived off Pickerington Road for 18 years.
“Once they kind of got their Ps and Qs in order, the message has been consistently clear,” McClellan said. “That we’re moving forward on this.”
The property just behind theirs, the 212-acres that was purchased by the city of Pickerington in 2018, could soon be filled with residential homes and commercial businesses.
“We know it’s probably gonna affect our property values,” McClellan said. “It’s gonna affect our quality of life and it just doesn’t fit the area.”
They’re not against development as long as it makes sense.
The proposal, they say, could potentially put a strain on a city already seeing a booming population that the school system struggles to keep up with. And even with many people opposing the matter, McClellan says city leaders won’t listen.
“Don’t you know development’s gonna come,” McClellan said in a voice as if someone is speaking to him in a childish tone. “Come now, you open up and take your medicine. I mean, that’s the way it’s been fed to us.”
The city says the development aligns with its comprehensive plans. Tuesday’s efforts to get an interview with Mayor Lee Gray were not responded to. City Manager Greg Butcher responded saying he would be in meetings all afternoon.
The matter has already passed the city’s Planning and Zoning Committee and the city’s Service Committee. Tuesday, the matter heads to city council for consideration.
McClellan and Kelley say, especially with demolition crews already beginning to tear down dangerous buildings on the proposed property, they know change is imminent.