TURTLECREEK TWP. — A country community on the west side of this Warren County township is getting weary of fighting development year after year.

        First it was a mega-mall, planned on land Monroe annexed from Turtlecreek. For the past year, it's been a health and technology complex that Middletown Regional Hospital wants to build.

        This week, developers revived plans for the mall, albeit a slightly scaled-down version.

        “I think it's going to keep popping up one way or another,” said longtime resident Jean Butts, a member of Residents of West Central Warren County. “I think when you sit that close to 75, it's inevitable.”

        Western Turtlecreek abuts Interstate 75 midway between Cincinnati and Dayton, one of the few remaining undeveloped stretches along the corridor. It also abuts cities — including Butler County's Monroe and Middletown and Warren's Mason and Lebanon — that are eager to cash in on the area's growth potential by annexing chunks of the township.

        The Taubman Co., based in Michigan, said Tuesday it will build a 1.1 million-square-foot mall on 275 acres in Monroe at I-75 and Ohio 63. Two miles north at Greentree Road, Middletown Regional is seeking to build a 450-acre health and technology campus.

        Some residents have criticized Turtlecreek officials for not doing more to stem the tide, but Trustee Dan George said townships are virtually powerless to do so under current annexation law. He's hopeful pending changes will give them more power.

        “Right now, all we can do is sit and watch it happen,” Mr. George said.

        The resident group's main objection to a mall and other development is that it threatens the quantity and quality of water in the aquifer beneath western Turtlecreek. The aquifer supplies drinking water to the surrounding cities and township residents.

        “I hate to see the natural resources set aside because a few people want to make a few bucks and move on,” said Bob Buffenbarger, an authority on the aquifer and a Turtlecreek resident for a half-century. “It's an uphill battle, but when it gets down to the nitty gritty, this whole area is going to be fighting over water. ... Sooner or later, maybe some powers that be will wise up.”

        Despite the expanding front in the development battle, Mr. Buffenbarger said the residents are not giving up. Mrs. Butts agreed but noted: “You do reach a point where there's nothing else you can do.”

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