A large swath of farmland just west of Yellow Springs limits is now up for sale.
On the market are 185 contiguous acres along Dayton-Yellow Springs Road that are split between three tracts.
At nearly 59 acres, the first tract — located at the intersection of Snypp and Dayton-Yellow Springs roads — is listed for $1.3 million. Tract number two — 40 acres that abut the first parcel to the east — includes a home and barn and is listed for $925,000. The third tract, closest to village limits, contains over 86 acres and is listed for $1.55 million. The land is owned by David Welch, whose family has farmed there for several generations.
All three tracts are zoned agricultural and are beyond Yellow Springs’ urban service boundary — that is, beyond the reach of municipal utilities. They are subject to the provisions of Miami Township’s zoning regulations, which require minimum lots of three acres and lot frontage of 300 continuous feet.
According to Bart Sheridan, a real estate broker and auctioneer with Sheridans LLC, the Cedarville-based company listing the Welch farm, those land use restrictions may hamper the kind and amount of potential development.
“This land can definitely be split up into a bunch of little three-acre lots,” Sheridan told the News earlier this week. “But the limitations of agricultural zoning, no access to Yellow Springs water or sewer — those things could be deal-breakers for large-scale developers.”
He continued: “Really anything is possible. Someone could buy just one tract and keep farming there, or a home developer could buy all 185 acres.”
Sheridan was unable to predict the timeline of an eventual sale — “The larger the property, the larger the dollars, the longer the time,” he said — but he did note that the Welch family opted for an open market sale over an auction in the interest of “waiting for the right price.”
“That’s the real benefit of listing your land: You have the calendar on your side and can take your time making the right sale,” Sheridan said.
Some interested parties have already emerged.
Miami Township Zoning Inspector Bryan Lucas said he was recently approached by a real estate agent inquiring about the possibility of building a gas station on the tract of land at the intersection of Snypp and Dayton-Yellow Springs roads. Presently, the Township’s conditions of agricultural zoning prohibit such a use.
“But that doesn’t mean that things can’t be built,” Lucas said. “Someone could ask for parts of these parcels to be rezoned for new development, which is a long process that would involve a bunch of applications, public hearings and more.”
Lucas noted that as zoning inspector, his job is not to greenlight or prohibit outright new development in Miami Township, but rather to interpret the Township’s zoning resolution and land use plan, and to ensure that any new development conforms to the area’s rural character.
“Some growth is important, but not too much that the township loses all its agriculture,” he said. “Ultimately, protecting agricultural land is one of the primary underlying goals of any township — encouraging farming, discouraging excessive sprawl. Still, a balance must be struck between progress and the values and needs of a community.”
Bent on preserving the Welch farm as agricultural is Tecumseh Land Trust, or TLT.
As the News has reported in the last several months, TLT seeks to partner with a prospective buyer to purchase a conservation easement for all — or at least some — of the 185 acres up for sale. An easement would prevent any development — residential, commercial or otherwise — on that land, allowing only for agricultural uses in perpetuity.
“We’ve been talking to a handful of buyers,” TLT Executive Director Michele Burns said in a phone call with the News this week. “We’re trying to find a conservation-minded buyer who might be willing to work with us on any one of those parcels — or all three.”
By Reilly Dixon
