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Council approves Harmony Hill annexation and zoning; electric cooperative pushes for notice and retention of service territory
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Summary
The council approved annexation and R‑1C rezoning for the Harmony Hill second-edition development. Coddington Clark Electric urged the city to retain its service territory and to improve notification practices; staff said changes to the utilities board or service boundaries would require separate public processes.
The Watertown City Council on March 16 approved a resolution to initiate annexation and a second-reading ordinance to rezone property in the Harmony Hill development to R‑1C (compact single-family residential).
Community Development Manager Hinton explained the annexation covers a two-acre parcel and an associated rezone of roughly seven additional acres to allow future platting and residential development. "This is the annexation and zoning of a 2 acre parcel of property in the Harmony Hills subdivision," Hinton said while mapping the area for the council.
During public comment, Dave Eide, manager of Coddington Clark Electric, urged the council to allow the cooperative to retain service territory in the annexed area and asked for better notice of annexations. "It's a government taking of private business," Eide said as he described past instances where municipal utilities had assumed territory.
City staff and the mayor said they would review notification practices and noted that any change to how the municipal utilities board is constituted or to service boundaries would require public processes and, in some cases, public votes. City attorney and staff advised that the existing arrangements and any formal changes would follow statutory and charter procedures.
Council voted in favor of the annexation and rezoning in separate votes; both motions carried. Staff said the annexation will be platted for future development and that technical questions about floodplain were answered: the area proposed for annexation does not lie in a designated floodplain.
Next steps: city staff will proceed with platting and follow standard notice procedures for affected utilities and stakeholders; any request to change how the municipal utilities board is selected or to alter service territories would require separate review and, likely, public approval.
