Staff photo / J.T. Whitehouse Laurel Hills Lane resident Chris Vecchione was among nine people who addressed Canfield City Council about a proposed annexation of 11 more acres at the end of the street. The annexation request was turned down by Mahoning County commissioners due to an error on the application.

CANFIELD — Residents from Laurel Hills Lane and Savannah Court expressed their concerns to city council over the proposed annexation of 11.1 acres at the end of Laurel Hills. The property was set to be developed by On Mark Communities LLC, but no one knows what the plans are for the property.

“My question is, do you know what the developer is going to build,” said resident Jackie Stewart on Wednesday.

City Attorney Mark Fortunato told Stewart the city only approves what services are available to the property, and what the developer wants to do with the land is not part of the process. If the land was annexed, it would fall under city zoning, he said.

Stewart said, “I would ask the city (council) to reject it the next time.”

Said Laurel Hills resident Karen Curtis, who has lived on the street since 1996, “When we moved here, we had strict regulations and one said only single-family homes could be built on the lots. If this property is annexed, it must remain single-family dwellings.”

Another resident, Robert Gerst said, “The street is not in great shape. What will happen when big trucks start coming down the street?”

Christine Gerst said trucks already drive on the street and dump what appeared to be brush. She said one truck got stuck and had to be pulled out at 10 p.m. She and several others said normally the street is quiet and peaceful and a great place for families.

“Many of the children on the street are active,” Chris Vecchione said. “My main concern is their safety.”

Laurel Hills resident John Stewart said his concern is over the property being developed.

“Our neighborhood is what Canfield is all about,” he said. “We feel that any development will (ruin) our neighborhood.”

He also raised the issue with entering and exiting the neighborhood. The fire department requires two means of access for a specific number of homes. Laurel Hills Lane exceeds that number, but according to Fortunato, is grandfathered as it was created before that requirement took effect.

Fortunato said the property is in Canfield Township. The developer could go ahead and build without annexation and would not be under city zoning regulations. He said that is one reason to annex the property so the city can control it.

In other business, several people spoke about bringing the Boardman Fire Department into the Cardinal Joint Fire District.

Resident Steve Planey said, “We are not interested in a merger with anyone. Canfield has three ambulances and Boardman has allocated for two. There will be way more calls in Boardman. I say let Boardman stand alone for two years and then there will be some hard data.”

Josh Grossman, union president for Canfield firefighters, told council the fire district had 2,200 calls last year and Boardman had more than 6,000, with 5,400 being emergency medical calls.

“Canfield calls are increasing as the population gets older,” he said. “We (the union) forwarded questions regarding the merger and none have really answered them.”

jtwhitehouse@vindy.com