NEW RUSSIA TWP., Ohio — Two words have sparked controversy in Lorain County.
Mega. Site.
For months, we’ve reported on the growing opposition from community members and why county leaders say it will help improve their community.
RELATED: Neighbors push back as Lorain County 'mega site' receives first zoning hearing
In a meeting of the New Russia Twp. Zoning Commission, Tuesday night, Stephanie Jacovetti plans to make her case. We should mention she’s the relative of a News 5 employee. But her story and perspective are unique. She owns two acres of land right in the middle of the proposed development site. She told News 5 she bought the land with her husband in 2021 with plans to build a house.
“With COVID and all the construction costs and everything, we kind of put it off," she said. But she’s glad they did hold off.
We told you in July of 2025 when a $67 million investment from the All Ohio Future Fund was announced.
The county also announced plans to put that money to work transforming roughly 1,000 acres of farmland in New Russia Twp. into a so-called mega site, a shovel-ready swath of land ready for development. First, they need to rezone the land from agricultural and residential to an industrial park. Lorain County Commissioner Dave Moore told News 5 at the time it would bring new opportunities to the area.
"Not only is it going to alleviate the housing pressures that we receive, but the employment boom is going to be immense,” he said.
But not everyone welcomed the concept. Families started speaking out against the plan.
Yard signs popped up, reading “no mega site.” A petition started to gain steam. Meetings about the project got crowded. All the while, leaders like Lorain County Administrator Jeff Armbruster continued to pitch this as a chance to grow.
"It brings all kinds of things to Lorain County,” he told News 5 in October. “And it allows New Russia Twp. quite honestly, to grow and prosper.”
Jacovetti isn’t convinced. She’s planning to speak out against the rezoning plan at tonight’s meeting. She also hopes to get some clarity about what will happen to her two acres if rezoning is approved.
“No one’s reached out to ask us if we want to sell it or anything like that,” she said.
She told News 5 she hopes she can hold on to her dream of returning to the rural lifestyle she was raised in.
"I grew up in kind of like, the country area outside of Akron,” she said. “I want to have an area where I can look out all the windows and be able to see something other than my neighbors.”
Jacovetti said she also hopes county leaders really hear the message from people who live in New Russia Twp.
"The one thing I’ve gotten out of this is that I would love to live there because the community is so strong and so tight-knit,” she said. “We want our farms, we want the cows out there, we want the corn fields. We want that. That’s what we want.”
That Zoning Commission meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at 46300 Butternut Ridge Rd. in Oberlin.
