Cookeville City Council is set to host its first public hearing this Thursday on the city’s proposed urban growth boundary expansion.
The Cookeville Planning Commission has already approved a plan that expands to the east, south, and west by an estimated 4,225 acres or 6.6 square miles. Community Development Director Jon Ward said areas in the expanded urban growth boundary would only be annexed if the residents requested annexation.
“If you are a property owner in that urban growth boundary and you petition the city for annexation, you can be annexed by owner consent,” Ward said. “You know, anything the city initiates would have to go to a referendum process, which this has no bearing on. So I want to make sure the council understands that.”
The council is also set to host a second public hearing on December 18. Ward said after the public hearings, the proposed expansion will then go to the Putnam County Coordinating Committee for review.
“If they ratify it, all this would go back to every municipality in Putnam County and the county commission for final approval,” Ward said. “If approved there, it would be forwarded to the state of Tennessee, the local government planning and advisory committee, for their approval. [That] would be the final approval.”
The council asked if annexing has to be contiguous. Ward said it does not, but it is not good practice to annex non-contiguously.
“It’s not an efficient delivery of public services,” Ward said. “That’s why, when we were petitioned to annex the property north of town and Dodson Branch Road, you know, it was a mile outside of the city limits. You would be driving all those properties to provide services, so the city initiated on its own to expand into a bigger area to put that into a referendum.”
City Manager James Mills said the city does not extend sewer services outside of the city limits. Mills said for the city to provide for future development, the city is going to have to be able to annex. Mills said expanding the urban growth boundary is the first step
The first public hearing will be held on Thursday, 5:30pm at City Hall.