Columbus City Council members have agreed to annex nearly 100 acres of property in Columbus Township.
The council unanimously voted to pass the second reading of an ordinance to annex 96.97 acres into the city, along with a required fiscal plan resolution.
The request was made by Force Holdings, LLC, along with Gordon and Barbara Lake — the original annexation petition was submitted by only Force Holdings but the Lakes joined after an invitation by the planning department, according to a memo sent to council members by city/county planning director Jeff Bergman.
The annexation area is located at the eastern terminus of McKinley Avenue, east of its intersection with Marr Road. The area has one home on a half-acre lot owned by the Lakes and five parcels of undeveloped ground owned by Force Holdings.
The Lakes would have been surrounded by the city limits had they not joined, according to planning staff.
The area is primarily zone Agriculture: Preferred (AP) with 20 acres zoned Residential: Single-Family 4 (RS4)
The annexation area is about 70% contiguous with the current city limits, satisfying the requirement of 12.5% contiguity.
The fiscal plan indicated there would be no cost to provide city services to the area.
In addition, the annexation would have no financial impact on Force Holdings because its five parcels qualify for a property tax rate exemption, while the Lakes’ annual property taxes could increase by nearly $900 due to the annexation, according to the fiscal plan.
While no rezoning or development of the property is being proposed, Bergman said during the first reading, “One of the things that I know the applicant had mentioned was they may be looking for some clarity and some assistance with some trespass issues that are on the property.”
All but six acres of the annexation area is located in a mapped floodway “and likely has no development potential,” according to a report by planning staff.
In terms of adopted city annexation policy, Bergman pointed to one that talks about the pattern of city boundaries promoting efficient provision of services by the city and county, noting, “This is really that last piece of property on this westside of Clifty Creek that’s not in the city limits at this point.”
The Columbus Plan Commission during their meeting on Aug. 14 forwarded a favorable recommendation to the city council on the rezoning.
“Our main objective here is to kind of clean up what’s a messy definition, or line that jumps back and forth between city and county jurisdiction,” Harold Force, of Force Holdings, told plan commission members on Aug. 14.
“We’ve had great response from both county officials and city officials relative to some of the vagrancy issues that occur on the sites. So it’s not that we’re trying to correct the problem, but it’s a little bit like Ghostbusters, so we know who to call when something comes up, and that’s really our driver here.”
