Salem, Perry trustees advance draft annexation agreement; 30-day public review planned

Salem City Council and Perry Township trustees on Sept. 2 discussed a draft annexation agreement intended to promote economic development by pairing Perry Township’s land with Salem’s utilities and agreed to circulate the current draft for a 30‑day public review period while trustees and council officers work through a few clarifying edits.

The draft, presented at the regular Salem City Council meeting, moves past an earlier stalemate over residential deed restrictions by proposing a 12.5‑year compromise on those restrictions and language in the agreement that treats execution of a deed restriction, in certain circumstances, as evidence of the owner’s consent to annexation. Perry Township representatives stressed the goal of creating an economic‑development framework that benefits both jurisdictions.

Perry Township representative: "we've been working on this for probably the last 2 years trying to come to some kind of agreement between the city and the township. Primarily the reason behind its economic development. As we all know, township has the land, city has utilities," said a Perry Township trustee during the discussion.

Why it matters: Council members and township trustees said the agreement is designed to clear longstanding friction and make the jurisdictions jointly competitive for business recruitment. Key outstanding issues raised during the meeting include how deed‑restriction consent is documented, the effect of the proposed 12.5‑year moratorium on residential deed restrictions, how annexations will proceed under state expedited procedures, and how tax incentives and revenue splits would affect Salem’s…