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Oxford Twp. trustees appointed a 15-member citizens committee in March 2007 to prepare a plan that guides future development in the unincorporated portion of Oxford Twp. The committee has written a draft of a plan for the trustees to consider at their Monday, May 12, meeting.

The starting point for identifying desired land use activities in Oxford Twp. is preservation of the rural landscape and conservation of resources. The extensive contiguous expanse of farmland surrounding the city of Oxford is one of this community's most important resources. Preserving and protecting Oxford Twp.'s rural landscape contributes to the quality of life in the Oxford area in part because of the aesthetic and amenity value. It also makes an important economic contribution encouraging the local farm economy and tourism. Finding practical ways to preserve and protect this resource is a central core value of the plan.

Under current Butler County zoning and subdivision regulations, it is a permitted use for most farms to be entirely subdivided into 5- to 10-acre parcels. As a result, Oxford Twp., though it has had only modest population growth, has lost 995 acres of farmland in the past eight years.

Oxford Twp. also has an inventory of sensitive environmental features that are critical to conserve. These include streams, flood plains, steep slopes, wooded areas, habitats of endangered and threatened species and areas with potential for aquifer pollution.

The plan allocates land to four uses:

Agriculture/conservation areas: Land possessing none of the six environmentally sensitive features in the previous paragraph and suitable for continued agricultural production, natural areas or Conservation Development. Conservation Development starts by identifying areas on a property with sensitive environmental and cultural features and clustering houses away from those sensitive areas.

Environmentally sensitive areas: Land possessing one or two of the six environmentally sensitive features listed above and suitable for continued agricultural production, natural areas or conservation development.

Areas unsuitable for development: Land possessing three or more of the six environmentally sensitive features listed above and best left in a natural state.

Public lands: Land in Hueston Woods and Miami's Natural Areas and best left in a natural state.

Some questions and answers concerning the plan:

I would like to build a house on a large lot. Will I still be permitted to do so? Yes. Conservation Development provides an additional housing option for those who prefer a rural setting without having to maintain a large lot. You could still buy as large of a lot as you prefer.

In a Conservation Development, who owns the common areas? A common arrangement is for a homeowners association to own the land and rent it to a farmer. A farmer, another private individual or a trust also could own the land.

Can the common area be developed at a later date? No. Regardless of who owns the common area it is protected in perpetuity by a deed that restricts its use to farmland or natural area.

Will I be required to build a Conservation Development? This is an option we want to encourage, but houses on large lots will still be possible.

How will Conservation Development be encouraged? Two principal ways: (1) streamline the approval process; and (2) allow a few more houses to be built than permitted under the current large-lot system.

Don't I need a 5-acre lot for my leach field? Clustering houses on relatively small parcels is possible because Butler County Health Department permits placement of leach fields on a different property as long as the fields are protected by permanent easement that prevents heavy equipment or impermeable surfaces on top of them.

If the septic system is off-site, who maintains it? The individual homeowner still has full responsibility for maintaining the septic system for their house.

Can I build houses in an area considered environmentally sensitive? Conservation Development permits you to cluster houses on the least sensitive land in order to protect the most sensitive land.

Does Conservation Development cost more to build? National studies show that Conservation Development sometimes costs slightly more to build but generates a lot more revenue because the lots are more valuable and there are more of them.

Will adoption of this Plan change my taxes? No. Taxes are not affected by this plan.

Will adoption of this plan change the zoning of my property? The plan will not take away your current rights. The plan asks Butler County to consider new zoning making it easier to do a Conservation Development.

Wouldn't the farm's noise and smell disturb nearby houses? If a homeowners association owns the farmland it could negotiate specific practices with the farmer. We hope people who choose to live in Oxford Twp. will share this plan's goal of preserving and protecting agriculture here.

Jim Rubenstein is chair

man

of the Oxford Twp. Plan Committee.

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