Kent City Council on May 17 officially denied local farmer Eric Kolb’s request to detach his land from the city, with only Council Member John Kuhar dissenting.
Elected officials had previously rejected the request in committee.
Kolb owns acreage in both Kent and Franklin Township. His goal was to reconfigure his boundaries so that all his land would be in Franklin Township.
“I felt he had the right to consolidate his land back to Franklin Township,” Kuhar said after the meeting. “I can’t see where he’d be bothering someone by doing it.”
Kuhar noted that Kolb’s neighbors, many of whom had opposed the detachment plan, were afraid of what he might do with the land. The township, though, has rules as well as the city does, and some of them are stricter than Kent’s, Kuhar said.
Kolb bought the land at auction, believing it was all in Franklin Township, only to discover that 38 acres were in Kent, which had previously annexed it to accommodate a builder whose plans never came to fruition. About 10 acres were eventually developed into the Forest Lake subdivision just east of Stow on Fairchild Avenue.
Kolb’s land remained part of Kent even though a sign before Kolb’s Johnson Road driveway welcomes people to Franklin Township and he has no access to Kent utilities.
Kuhar said the bulk of Kolb’s land is not easily buildable, being mostly muck on a designated flood plain. Formerly agricultural, it used to be the Lappin Farm, a place where kids made pocket money by weeding celery and corn.
Kent Community Development Director Bridget Susel has stated that Kolb has the right to take his detachment bid to Portage County Common Pleas Court.
Wendy DiAlesandro is a former Record Publishing Co. reporter and contributing writer for The Portager.
Some points:
The only part of Kolb’s property not in the city is a narrow strip of land that is basically the right-of-way on the south side of Johnson Road. When the city annexed the Lappin Farm in 2006, the right-of-way remained in the township. I don’t recall the specific reasons but I seem to remember it made sure Johnson Road remained fully part of the township for maintenance. That narrow strip is less than an acre, while the main property is 39 acres. If the issue is simply making sure all property is under the same jurisdiction, it seems getting that narrow strip annexed would be a lot easier than trying to detach 39 acres from the city. I’m curious how the buyer didn’t realize the land is in the city, though. Not only is that info readily available on the county’s website (portagecountyauditor.org), but all mapping services (including Google and Apple) show that are being part of the city, in addition to zoning maps from the city of Kent, Portage County, and Franklin Township.
Another point that seems to have been overlooked is there is an additional 2.1 acre lot (Parcel 17-046-00-00-019-010) along Johnson Road that was also part of the original Lappin Farm that is not owned by Kolb. If his property returns to the township, it would make that lot an exclave or island of the city. It is listed as owned by Jessika Vizmeg-Kraut of Hudson, who purchased it in December 2022. Like Kolb’s property, this lot also has an adjacent strip (of 0.2 acres) that is the right-of-way for Johnson Road. The strip is part of the township, while the main lot is in the city. Interestingly enough, both of these right-of-way strips are listed as being in the Stow-Munroe Falls City School District while the main lots are in the Kent City Schools. So even if the lots were consolidated in Kent or Franklin Township, they would still remain in slightly different tax districts.
Also, Forest Lakes was not part of the Lappin Farm annexation. The annexation was in 2006 after Forest Lakes was already mostly developed (some of the Forest Lakes residents at the time worried a housing development on the Lappin Farm would result in Sunset Way Blvd. being extended to Johnson Road and increase traffic). The roughly 10 acres of the original annexation not part of Kolb’s property were divided off for four lots along Newcomer Road and the previously mentioned lot on Johnson Road. The record of the annexation can be seen here: https://services.portageco.com/recorder/PlatMaps/2006/2006-47%202of2%20Annexation%20City%20of%20Kent.pdf