(2/25) A vacant estate on 3300 Harney Road, which neighbors the Sewell Farm, applied for annexation into the City in February due to a failing sewer system. The Health Department and the current property owners wish to connect the little more than half-acre property to the City’s public sewer but must annex in order to do so.
When land surveyors reviewed the property lines during the development of the annexation plat, they learned that there is a 25-foot strip of ground between the neighboring Sewell property (which is within City limits) and 3300 Harney Road. City Manager Jim Wiepecht mentioned the driveway of 3300 Harney encroaches on the strip of ground and staff was surprised to learn there was a strip of land between the Harney Road property and the neighboring farm. Wiepecht recommend annexing the 25-foot strip to "neaten it up and give the owners a straighter boundary."
The 25-foot piece used to be a part of two farms and are now owned by "Roll the Dice LLC" as part of a larger 30-acre parcel. Neither portion of land has any buildable future due to their small sizes, however staff recommended annexing them in at R20,000 zoning which is medium density and is what the Comprehensive Plan calls for. Wieprecht pointed out the 25-foot strip was likely left behind after the Sables subdivision construction, "The radius of the first lot indicates that maybe somebody was thinking there might eventually be a street going in there or something."
The owner of the 25-foot strip is willing to let it be annexed into the City. They have inquired about annexing the adjacent 30 acre property before, "but we are not ready to deal with another 30-acre annexation right now," Wieprecht said.
To move forward with the annexation of the 25-foot strip of land, Mayor Chris Miller will need to sign the annexation agreement before paperwork can be prepared that Carroll County to will need to continue. In addition, a resolution will need to be drafted and introduced before going to a public hearing on the annexation held.
