Council members and staff spent substantial time discussing Item 9A1, a request to annex approximately 85.85 acres located on Society Hill Road (Coal Place Phase 1). Planning staff said the Planning Commission had unanimously recommended approval in November but the item had been postponed previously.

Developer Michael Dilworth introduced himself and explained the current annexation request covers the parcels his group now owns; he said additional acreage will be brought forward in approximately 18 months as they acquire more of the larger property. Dilworth said the portion under consideration now is planned with lots of three acres or larger, and that a conservation overlay (owing to the watershed) exists on the site; the conservation overlay can allow smaller lot sizes only if the developer follows the city’s more stringent conservation subdivision regulations.

Council members and staff pressed traffic and roadway questions. Staff and senior civil engineer Dan Krause said the proposal did not trigger a required traffic study based on unit thresholds, although council members asked whether a right-turn or left-turn lane waiver had been granted. Staff said an appeal authority had reviewed a waiver request in the planning process, that a waiver for a turn lane was requested and that staff would double-check the details and email the council. Staff also said Society Hill Road is currently maintained by the county and would remain county-maintained even after annexation.

Council discussion included questions about future phases, the conservation overlay’s constraints, and whether sidewalks or streetscape improvements would be required as part of the subdivision. The developer said plans show no lots under three acres in the first phase and that the second phase would be submitted later if and when additional parcels are acquired.

The transcript records the motion to move for approval and ensuing discussion, but the provided record does not include a roll-call result or a recorded final vote on the annexation. Staff committed to follow up with site plans and to clarify the turn-lane/waiver record for council members via email.