Putnam County began the final stages Tuesday of a long-term process to redefine the urban growth boundaries of the four municipalities.
Putnam County Planning Director Kevin Rush said the county and each city had to appoint the Joint Economic Community Development Board as the Growth Coordinating Committee to oversee the changes. Rush said the county is currently holding required public hearings to finalize the boundary adjustments after beginning the coordination process late last year.
“Monterey started the process because we had a property that was partially in the city and partially outside the city, but it was also outside the urban growth boundary for the city,” Rush said. “So in order to annex that parcel, we had to open it up and change the urban growth boundary so that that parcel, the rest of that parcel, was actually in the urban growth boundary and then they can petition and we can go through the process to finish that annexation.”
Rush said the specific parcel that triggered the initial change was the Donnie Suits property located near the first Monterey exit. Rush said while Monterey initiated the update, Cookeville, Baxter, and Algood also requested amendments to their respective boundaries.
“It’s just the natural politics of when meetings can be scheduled and getting people together,” Rush said. “People’s schedules, so it’s just getting closer now. So we can see the finish line.”
Rush said the boundary changes will have no immediate impact on property owners who are not currently part of an active annexation. Rush said the new lines simply establish the areas where a city is permitted to annex land if property owners request it in the future.
“Annexation now can only be accomplished by either referendum, and that’s where people vote, just like City of Cookeville went through and annexed the Dotson Branch area,” Rush said. “Or by petition. So the property owners have to petition the city to be annexed. So this just makes it easier for people to request annexation, or if there were a potential referendum, it’s more confined.”
Rush said residents who are annexed into a city receive immediate access to services such as police and fire protection and garbage pickup. Rush said the city must negotiate with existing utility and electric providers when new areas are brought into the limits, while sewer services are typically extended within a 20-year window.
“There’s not much that will change for the average property owner in Putnam County,” Rush said. “It’s just changing an area that a city can annex in if they’re petitioned. Other than if it’s not if there’s no petition, it would be a referendum annexation where people would be allowed to vote yay or nay.”
Rush said each city is responsible for determining its own timeline for future growth beyond the current projects.