Othello to host public hearing on large annexation request
Several lots of land are being considered for annexation near Adams County Pet Rescue on Bench Road near Othello. Most lots are on the north side of the animal shelter, west of its location, but other lots are east of it and run south of Bench Road.
COURTESY PHOTO/GOOGLE MAPS
A public hearing on a request to annex property into the city of Othello will be reopened Monday.
OTHELLO — A public hearing to consider a request for annexation into Othello of property south of the existing city limits is scheduled to be reopened Monday. While the Othello City Council can make a decision on the proposal after the hearing, they don’t have to, said Othello Development director Anne Henning.
“There’s no set time frame,” Henning said.
The first public hearing was held in June, and then continued into July. The applicants, Skone & Connors Partners, requested an additional continuance to Oct. 13. In the interim, the applicants have revised the proposal.
The hearing will be incorporated into the regular Othello City Council meeting at 6 p.m. at City Hall — 500 E. Main St., Othello.
Some property along West Bench Road was removed from the proposal, along with land adjacent to the Othello Fairgrounds. The proposal does still include property between West Bench Road and West Hampton Road, land that’s adjacent to State Route 17.
Council members couldn’t decide on the proposal in July because the annexation petition didn’t meet the qualifications. Signatures on any annexation petition must have been submitted within the last six months, and the signatures on the original petition are older than that. That petition has been updated as of Friday.
Once council members take testimony at the public hearing, Henning said they have the option to approve the request, reject it, modify it or ask for more information.
A public hearing is designed to solicit public comment, and a lot of people commented in June and July, both in person and in writing. Most of the written comments submitted in June and July were against the proposal; so was most of the in-person testimony.
The southern boundary of the proposed annexation area is about two miles from the city limits, and during earlier public hearings, council members had questions about providing water and sewer service that far from existing utility connections. They also had questions about the impact on emergency services and existing roads in the proposed annexation area. Mayor Shawn Logan said it would be up to the applicant to answer most of those questions.
A public hearing on a request to annex property into the city of Othello will be reopened Monday.