Westerville City Council on July 2 unanimously passed the first piece of legislation needed to annex 5.6 acres of Orange Township land.

The legislation establishes that the city’s services, namely police, fire, water and sewer services, would be offered to the annexed parcels.

The land that is being considered for annexation is the three residential properties at the north end of Taylor Way, north of County Line Road and east of Olde Worthington Road.

Annexing the parcels would allow the city of Westerville to build a north-south roadway between County Line Road and Polaris Parkway with an east-west connector to Olde Worthington Road.

The new roadway would service a proposed development that currently is before the Westerville Planning Commission.

The proposed development calls for a 520-unit apartment complex at the southeast corner of the more than 100-acre parcel that spans Polaris Parkway between Alum Creek and Worthington Road.

Preliminary plans for the portion of the property that lines Polaris Parkway to the north and south call for a mix of retail and office space, though detailed plans of what that development might look like have not yet come before the city for approval.

The developers for the site, Trivium and NP, have filed an application with Delaware County for the annexation of the properties into Westerville, assistant city manager Julie Colley said.

Next, Delaware County will have to act on the annexation proposal, and Westerville's council will see more legislation relating to the proposed annexation after it returns from its summer recess in September, Colley said.