ITEM NO. 8A: ANNEXATION OF 119.8964 ACRES; SOUTH OF K-10 HIGHWAY BETWEEN O’CONNELL ROAD AND FRANKLIN ROAD (SLD)
A-12-14-03: Annexation request for approximately 119.9 acres of land, located south of K-10 Highway, between O’Connell Road and Franklin Road. Submitted by The Peridian Group, Inc., for Eastside Acquisitions, L.L.C., property owners of record.
STAFF PRESTENATION
Ms. Day introduced the proposed annexation, which was submitted in combination with several rezoning requests and a Preliminary Plat that were deferred unanimously at the beginning of the meeting. Deferral was chosen because the subject area was east of O’Connell Road in an area that would require significant infrastructure improvements.
In Staff’s opinion, the City Commission needed to have additional discussion to provide policy direction regarding phasing of sewer capacity and other infrastructure needs before any development projects were allowed to proceed.
Staff recommended approval of the annexation, with an understanding that this did not commit the City to a specific density for sewering or an immediate timeframe for infrastructure construction.
It was clarified that it was feasible to extend sewer service to the subject area within a reasonable time, so annexation was appropriate at this time. However, it was not yet determined how much sewer could or should be constructed, so further development considerations that were dependent upon how much sewer was approved for the area should be delayed until these questions were answered.
APPLICANT PRESENTATION
Bill Newsome, Eastside Acquisitions, said he had hoped to address the rezonings for residential development and Preliminary Plat at this meeting. He felt discussion about the issues identified by Staff were “far enough along” that the submitted requests could be conditionally approved. The applicant was therefore not completely in agreement with Staff’s recommendation for deferral of everything except the annexation, but Mr. Newsome said they would be prepared to return in May 2004 with all questions answered to Staff’s satisfaction.
Mr. Newsome did not think there was concern about the ability to sewer the subject area at the proposed density. The question was how these improvements would be financed and how long they would take.
Mr. Newsome said the applicant(s) took issue with some of the density assumptions in the adopted Wastewater Master Plan and would come forward later with a proposal for what they believed was an appropriate density and use of the land.
CLOSING COMMENTS
There were no closing comments from the applicant or Staff.
ACTION TAKEN
Motioned by Comm. Schachter and seconded to approve annexation of approximately 119.8964 acres generally located on the south side of E. 23rd Street and forward it to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval, based on the findings of fact presented in the body of the Staff Report and subject to the following conditions:
1. Provision of a revised legal description to include the adjacent public rights-of-way of E. 23rd Street/K-10 Highway and O’Connell Road/E1600 Road; and
2. Adoption of an Area Plan that includes the subject property prior to publication of the Annexation Ordinance.
DISCUSSION ON THE MOTION
It was noted for the benefit of the applicant that the newly-adopted Commercial Chapter of Horizon 2020 stated appropriate land uses for the subject property and that these would make the currently-proposed C-5 zoning inappropriate.
It was also discussed whether it was appropriate to annex land without knowing what city zoning designation the area would have. RS-1 was used in the past as a ‘holding zone’ for newly annexed land but had proved problematic. Retaining the A (Agricultural) zoning upon annexation was considered appropriate because the new zoning code, nearing adoption, would convert this designation to UR (Urban Reserve). The UR category was designed specifically as a holding zone designation.
ACTION TAKEN
Motion on the floor was to approve annexation of approximately 119.8964 acres generally located on the south side of E. 23rd Street and forward it to the City Commission with a recommendation for approval, based on the findings of fact presented in the body of the Staff Report and subject to the following conditions:
1. Provision of a revised legal description to include the adjacent public rights-of-way of E. 23rd Street/K-10 Highway and O’Connell Road/E1600 Road; and
2. Adoption of an Area Plan that includes the subject property prior to publication of the Annexation Ordinance.
Motion carried unanimously, 9-0, with Student Commissioner Bittenbender also voting in the affirmative.