Attorneys needed one day and two witnesses to make the case for annexing 3.5 miles of territory into the city of Columbus.
There is no timetable on when Lowndes County Chancery Judge Kenneth Burns will make a ruling, but the city rested its case Monday after several hours of testimony. Now, the city must submit a proposed judgment for review and any objectors that wish to write the court can do so. All arguments will be taken under consideration before Burns submits a ruling to Lowndes County Chancery Court.
The city’s request is to go forward with bringing into the city limits an area from the intersection of Hobbes Sheffield Road and Lehmberg Road to just past Dutch Lane. The plan passed by councilmen in 2011 would also bring in the Riverwalk, as well as a single-family subdivision near Jolly Road near Highway 45 North, if Burns upholds it.
The annexation would add about 1,462 residents, 638 homes and 44 businesses to the city, according to Lowndes County tax assessor Greg Andrews. That’s about 615 parcels with a total value of $64.4 million.
A $2 million business in the county brought inside the city would have to pay $44,508 in property taxes a year. That same business is currently paying $25,521. A resident who has a parcel worth $100,000 in the county who is not covered by homestead exemption would pay $2,225 a year if brought into the city, instead of the $1,276 paid now.
Chris Watson of Oxford-based planning firm Bridge & Watson and Columbus Light and Water General Manager Todd Gale were the witnesses questioned during Monday’s hearing.
One of many arguments Watson made in favor of annexing was that development has expanded into the areas that are proposed to be brought into the city. “We have a cup runneth over situation,” Watson said during Monday’s hearing. “If you look at Lehmberg Road, that north-south boundary of the city of Columbus, you can look at the development that has come up to and developed up to Lehmberg Road. You see the urbanization that is continuing to the east. The city grew to that point, and growth has now spilled over beyond the corporate limits.Watson also noted that the city already has some utilities into the areas.
“With no regulated development, it could be a free-for-all for development,” Watson added. “Recognizing that the city of Columbus is a substantial service provider, then the city is in a position where it doesn’t have any regulatory authority over what gets built and how that may impact sewer and water capacity or the overusage thereof.”
Columbus City Council attorney Jeff Turnage said spillover development was a subcategory of 12 indicators of reasonability for expansion established by the State Supreme Court that the city needed to show were present.
“I think we’ve met all the indicators the Supreme Court required us to on all the areas we’re seeking to annex,” Turnage said.
Two residents asked questions to witnesses about the proposed annexation during Monday’s hearing. There had previously been four parties who had legal representation and were planning to contest the city’s plan, but they withdrew their objections last month.
Nathan Gregory covers city and county government for The Dispatch.
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