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State Rep. Brad Thomas urges Cherokee County to defend growth‑boundary agreements after Holly Springs annexation
Summary
State Rep. Brad Thomas told the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners he will support county efforts after the city of Holly Springs approved an annexation outside an established growth boundary. He asked the county to consider a resolution and said members of the local delegation stand ready to help.
State Rep. Brad Thomas urged Cherokee County commissioners on Sept. 2 to push back after Holly Springs approved an annexation beyond an established growth boundary, calling the city action a breach of cooperative planning agreements and asking the county to seek support from the local legislative delegation.
“For the record, I am State Representative Brad Thomas. I represent District 21,” Thomas said after being introduced by the board. He said he recently urged the Holly Springs City Council to deny an annexation petition in Hickory Flat that lay outside the agreed growth boundary, but the council approved it. “That decision was disheartening. Not only because of the annexation itself, because of what it represented,” Thomas said, adding that the annexation weakened the “spirit of cooperation” the county expects from municipalities.
Thomas said the General Assembly previously urged collaborative growth planning through House Resolution 1199 and Senate Resolution 818, and he urged the commission to send a clear message that the county will defend its growth-boundary agreements. “I think if you send a clear message that you respect the wishes of the delegation as proposed in those two resolutions, and that you're committing to shaping our county's future responsibly, that we'll be there to help you,” he told commissioners.
Commissioners responded that the growth-boundary agreement has always been understood as nonbinding, a ‘‘gentleman’s agreement’’ that relies on trust rather than enforceable law. Chairman Johnston and other commissioners said the board will draft a resolution and welcomed Thomas’s offer of delegation support.
During the discussion, Thomas and commissioners emphasized the importance of orderly growth and regional planning. Commissioners noted that about 60% of recent growth occurred in municipalities and that, at current rates, county population projections could grow substantially over decades. Several speakers called for joint planning targets and closer county-city coordination to manage growth.
Thomas also acknowledged outreach by Holly Springs’ new mayor and said there may be an opportunity to repair relationships with municipal officials. “I believe he genuinely wishes to build a stronger working relationship,” Thomas said, while still urging accountability when intergovernmental agreements are disregarded.
Ending: Commissioners said they will prepare a resolution in the coming weeks and work with the local delegation on options; no formal county legal action was taken at the meeting.
