Some Berkshire Township residents, upset with plans for growth near the I-71 interchange, are seeking to merge the township with the village of Galena to stall development, village officials say. But yesterday, a Delaware County judge sided with landowners who object to the merger attempt by issuing a temporary restraining order against the plans.

Some Berkshire Township residents, upset with plans for growth near the I-71 interchange, are seeking to merge the township with the village of Galena to stall development, village officials say.

But yesterday, a Delaware County judge sided with landowners who object to the merger attempt by issuing a temporary restraining order against the plans.

At a special Galena Village Council meeting on Friday night, Galena discussed how to deal with two township residents, Susan Stanton and Shawna Burkham, who had requested the names of five residents to represent the village in future merger negotiations. The two had told officials earlier that they planned to circulate a petition to get the issue before voters.

�Council felt we would rather give them names we chose ... people who would stand up for the village,� said Jeanna Burrell, Galena administrator.

She said merging would do nothing to help the village, where a tax levy was narrowly voted down.

�We don�t like any of this,� Burrell said, �being dragged into somebody else�s war.�

Merging with the township �would eliminate the current village and township governments and replace them with a new, presently undefined government,� Galena residents were told in a letter from the council. �We do not support this petition! Signing the petition (to initiate a merger) is not, nor will it ever be, in the village�s best interests.�

By law, at least 10 percent of voters in the village (22 based on Nov. 4 turnout) plus 10 percent of township voters (198) must sign the petition before it is sent to the Delaware County Board of Elections for inclusion on the November 2015 ballot.

Landowners who purchased the property as an investment are angry and sued this week to stop the stalling tactics.

But yesterday morning, Delaware County Judge Richard M. Markus issued a restraining order to prevent the elections board from accepting merger petitions until Dec. 1.

The ruling is important, because once certified, the petition would immediately stop any new annexation filings in the township, village officials said.

Currently there are more than 500 acres being annexed into the village of Sunbury, said Rod Myers, vice chairman of the Berkshire Township Board of Trustees. Landowners want Sunbury�s utilities for the proposed NorthGate Centre mixed-use development, planned southeast of the interchange.

Property annexed into Sunbury also would be permitted 12 homes per acre instead of four as with Berkshire�s zoning, said Myers, making it more desirable to builders. Trustees have objected to annexations but are not involved with Stanton�s or Burkham�s actions.

NorthGate Centre and a competing project north of Rts. 36/37 known as NorthStar are also competing with a proposed Simon-Tanger outlet mall. All are located in Berkshire Township.

Landowners deserve protection, said Phil Craig, spokesman for NorthGate, which is banking on further annexations to expand its development plan. He called the merger push a �rogue action that is not invited by Galena.�

Berkshire Township recently agreed to create a joint economic development district with the city of Delaware, in which each would share proceeds from Delaware�s 1.85 percent income tax to be levied on the outlet mall and surrounding employees. Revenue from the JEDD would pay for road upgrades and a new joint safety-services building near the outlet mall.

A group of residents has been trying to gather signatures for a referendum that would overturn that JEDD, however.

That would only hurt residents, said John A. Villapiano, development director for New Jersey-based Simon Outlets, which plans a 2016 opening.

�The JEDD is a tool we have voluntarily agreed to that has direct benefits to Berkshire and Delaware,� Villapiano said in a statement. �None of the monies raised are going to our project."

dnarciso@dispatch.com

@DeanNarciso