The Columbia County Board of Commissioners approved a resolution opposing the proposed annexation of over 700 acres into the City of Harlem.
County Manager Scott Johnson said the county was notified by the City of Harlem of their intention to annex a piece of property on Clary Cut Road that is 736.3 acres. However, the county has some concerns about this possible annexation.
“I think the biggest issue I have heard so far with the exception of some strong citizen opposition to this, is the fact that Harlem is required to give it the closest zoning classification they have on their books to the classification that the county has,” Johnson said. “Currently it’s listed as R-A in the county, which means there’s one unit every 2 ½ acres for development. Their closest one would actually be 5 times that zoning, they would be able to get 5 on 2 ½ acres.”
This goes against the county’s growth management plan for that area, with Johnson saying the county would be responsible for the roads not in the city and other infrastructure.
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“We have to have maintenance on those (roads), we have to expand the road system, we have to widen the roads, we have to provide water and sewer in that area,” Johnson said. “We didn’t anticipate that the density would be five times what we had it zoned at, so this is being brough forth tonight.”
Johnson added the county has no legal standing when it comes to the annexation, which is why the resolution is asking the City of Harlem not to do go through with it.
“This is not opposition to Harlem’s ability to govern themselves,” Johnson said. “The commission has been inundated with calls and emails about people being concerned about that. We really don’t have the right to tell them not to do it, but based on what we’ve heard and based on the way our growth management plan looks and based on taking everything into consideration, we just ask them to consider not annexing.”
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Harlem’s discussion of the annexation
The Harlem City Council discussed the annexation at their meeting on April 28. All councilmembers voted to continue considering the development, save for Councilman Daniel Bellavance, who opposed.
The Harlem Planning Commission held a public hearing on the annexation during their May 6 meeting. The commission ultimately voted unanimously to recommend the property, should it be annexed, classified as A-1 Agricultural under Harlem’s zoning, a decision which was met with applause from attendees. Before the commissioners voted, city attorney Adam Nelson reminded commissioners that the A-1 zoning allows for lot sizes no smaller than five acres.
