The Gallatin City Council moved two companion measures — a plan of service and an annexation petition for about 325.48 acres owned by the Gregory family — on to the council for final consideration, clearing the way for later zoning and development steps.

City planning staff described the parcel as a large, mostly agricultural holding north of Gateway Drive and west of Bridal Lane. The proposed annexation would bring the property into city limits and enable a later rezoning and comprehensive plan amendment. Planning staff noted the property is not yet rezoned and that zoning decisions come after annexation.

Multiple residents of nearby Rountree Drive urged the council to protect the neighborhood if annexation moves forward. "We would like to see where the residential area of Rountree ends, and once that road is annexed as the city road, that a cul de sac is built there," said Judy Harden, a Rountree resident, who also raised concerns about blasting and long-term buffer maintenance.

Rosemary Bates, director of the City of Gallatin Economic Development Agency, told the council she had been in contact with the property owner and that the owners stated preference is industrial. Bates said EDA staff are discussing buffers and roadway connections with the owner and that industrial use would likely be limited in scale to employers that bring capital investment and high-skilled jobs. "I would not recommend that you zone it anything but industrial. I don't think that if it's in the city that it should be anywhere near residential," Bates said, adding that staff are working on mitigation measures.

Council members debated whether to delay annexation until the city had an explicit industrial overlay or other land-use protections in place. Councilman Gervontz asked staff to recheck the deed and contiguity documents residents cited; staff said their surveyors and attorneys had reviewed the legal description and that the annexation petition met contiguity requirements.

Council ultimately voted to send both the plan of service (Resolution R2509-69) and the annexation ordinance (Resolution R2509-70) forward to the council meeting for final action; the record shows the motions passed 6-1.

What happens next: annexation will need council final approval to take effect. After annexation, any rezoning or comprehensive plan amendment would be evaluated by the planning commission and return to council with recommendations. Council members repeatedly noted that rezoning and plan amendments are separate steps and that conditions like buffers, roadway improvements and truck routing would be addressed during those processes.