Planning board votes to forward Love's annexation, asks City Council to consider highway-commercial zoning

County Chair Judy Goldsby called the City/County Planning Board to order Dec. 18 and the board heard a public hearing on Love's Travel Stops' request to annex a parcel that was separated when highway easements were taken across the original lot.

Chief Administrative Officer Kurt Markegard said the parcel was once a single lot but was severed when the Highway Department acquired rights-of-way and easements. Love's annexed part of the original lot last summer and has since extended water and sewer out the old highway to the property, Markegard said. The company now seeks annexation of the remaining portion on the other side of the interstate and highway-commercial zoning so the site can be developed under city standards.

The request drew no public proponents or opponents during the hearing. Markegard told the board that if the City Council agrees to annex the land the next steps would include an annexation agreement and development agreement and work to establish water and sewer service for the parcel.

Board member Ronald Benner moved and Richard Klose seconded a motion to present Love's annexation and highway-commercial zoning request to the City Council for final action; the board approved the motion 6-0.

The board's recommendation is a procedural referral. Any final zoning designation and terms of annexation will be determined by the City Council in later hearings and agreements, Markegard said. The planning board record notes that JSA Civil LLC provided materials for the application and that staff will coordinate utility-service details if council proceeds with annexation.

The planning board did not take final zoning action; it forwarded a recommendation to the City Council. The council will consider annexation terms, an annexation agreement and any necessary development and service agreements at a subsequent meeting.