Commission seeks clarity on 3-mile plan and annexation methodology

Consultants explained the 3-mile plan (sometimes described as a 3-mile buffer) is the statutory planning area that should guide annexation decisions and that an annexation methodology was drafted to standardize how the town evaluates future annexation requests.

"If there is an annexation request, the town can take that annexation methodology and go through it's almost like a series of questioning," Cara Dodds said, listing factors such as contiguity, market readiness, ownership and access to water and sewer. Commissioners asked whether the methodology is advisory or absolute; consultants replied it is policy guidance and that any regulatory changes would be considered later through implementation steps such as code updates.

Staff noted the town historically relied on a future land-use map and that an explicit annexation strategy would provide more consistency for future decisions; the consultants said strategic growth mapping will overlay place types with annexation priorities to identify strong candidates for development and economic investment.