Huron council approves emergency sale of 41.88-acre River Road parcel to TriBand Investments for residential development

The Huron City Council on a vote approved an emergency ordinance to sell roughly 41.88 acres of vacant land on River Road to TriBand Investments LLC, a step that starts a due‑diligence period and sets up rezoning and planning work for a large residential development.

Council members said the sale — for a stated purchase price of $700,000 — would immediately allow TriBand to begin evaluations. Under the terms read into the record, $450,000 is due at closing, $125,000 is payable 12 months after closing and $125,000 is payable 24 months after closing. The agreement gives the developer a six‑month due‑diligence period; closing is contingent on the city rezoning the parcel before transfer.

City staff and councilors described the buyer as TriBand Investments potentially partnering with K. Hovnanian Homes to build “roughly 70 to 220 single‑family units,” a scale council members and staff repeatedly noted would be among the largest residential developments in Erie County in recent decades. The council’s motion declared the ordinance an emergency so the agreement could take effect immediately and the developer could begin site review and engineering work.

Council members and residents pressed for information about traffic, timing and public outreach. The city said a traffic study for the River Road intersection is already scheduled and that any rezoning and subsequent site plans must go through the planning and zoning commission and other standard approvals. Officials said the city would advertise developer presentations and that the public would be able to comment when the project reaches the planning and zoning stage.

Supporters on council framed the sale as an opportunity to increase the city’s tax base and help local schools, and they emphasized that the city would have no ongoing financial obligations for infrastructure after the sale. Opponents and some neighbors said they were concerned about construction traffic, long‑term land use changes and whether rezoning a large parcel to residential would foreclose future commercial or industrial options.

City staff said the city currently owns the property; if rezoning is approved while the city still holds title, the zoning would change at that time. Councilors also noted the council retains the authority to rezone in the future, but that would follow normal legislative processes.

The ordinance was read into the record as “Ordinance No. 2025‑5,” and council moved to adopt it as an emergency measure; final adoption followed the discussion.