[Winona Online Democracy]
Just a quick note about orderly annexation. We in the City of Rollingstone
have looked at orderly annexation several times. There is, I believe, some
state law that organizes the process. Any annexation we have considered has
been at the request of the land owner. Most cities, and I only speak for
Rollingstone, do not go out and force annexation. While this could be done
through an eminent domain process, that only creates alienation and the
possibility of law suits and added costs to both the land owner and City.
The City can find many ways to do annexation within 2 miles of the
border of the City. Some run along rights-of -way to get there and others
just annex connecting property. As I understand it, townships do not have
any voice in annexation if the orderly process is followed and the acreage
is under a certain size. As a courtesy, it would be responsible for Cities
to communicate these intentions to the townships.
If Mr. Phillips has requested annexation to the City of Winona, then
the City should be doing a feasibility study on that annexation. We have
done that here and found it to be very valuable in determining areas to be
annexed. Perhaps the City of Winona has done that already. Secondly, when
we have had a request for development , we have drawn up a development
agreement with the land owner. We used some templates from other Cities and
had our city planning commission tweak it for our needs. These agreements
are a fluid document that outline and specifies the requirements of both
the City and developer. I hope the City of Winona is looking at this idea
also.
I think citizens of both the City of Winona and Wilson Township should
request these documents for there perusal as they are public documents. If
the City has not done a feasibility study yet, that should be on the top of
their list. The cost for these studies is generally borne by the City and
then passed on through a negotiation with the developer (development
agreement).
On the other burning issue, I think in general WOD has been civil. Name
calling and personal attacks are never acceptable. I agree with Ed Thompson
and others that the delete key is available. I also commend the list
managers (Kathy in particular) for monitoring our activity. It is not an
easy job and I think she has responded well.
Dick Gaffron
----- Original Message -----
From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 10:52 AM
Subject: [Winona] If I were Queen for the Day
> [Winona Online Democracy]
>
>
> If I were Queen for the Day and had the ability to set the tone for
annexation
> issues this is what it would be.
>
> 1. First, I would ask for the city to produce statistics that support the
need
> for a Township land to become a city domain. The terms of "need" vs
"desire
> would be clearly and logically stated.
>
> 2. Second, when those statistic were gathered, I would bring City, County
and
> all Townships involved to the table to talk about these.
>
> 3. I would appoint a fair and honest mediator who has had no prior biases
or
> involvement in the city or township. This person would have to be willing
to
> act in the best interest of growth trends and need.
>
> 4. I would ask that all those coming to the table act civily and put
aside any
> personal agendas and past issues on this subject. If they are not able to
do
> this, I would ask them to remove themselves or remove them as this became
> apparant. I would then appoint this committee or "governing body" to look
at
> all requests for annextions, now and in the future. This group would
> consistently work as a "team" to resolve the annexation requests.
>
> 5. Based on the findings, I would ask that an orderly plan be put in
place for
> annexation of Townships. This orderly plan would include a guideline
related
> to no "Balloon and String and Leapfrogging" Orderly annexation rules
would
> include property needing to be adjacent to city limits. The plan would
also
> include better guidelines on lot size based on where the development is
going.
> For example placing 100 foot lots in a rural setting is not in a rural
settings
> favor but it may be in a differnt location.
>
> 6. Prior to moving into an other "annexable" area, the latest developed
area
> would need to have commitments completed such as, curb and gutter, traffic
> solutions, and infra-structures that support the completion of that area.
>
> 7. A request for annexation would go to this "governing" body, which
would look
> at the benefits and need from all sides, which would enable "biased"
decisions
> to not take place. A request for annexation would be considered from all
> parties involved and representing all populations.
>
> Oh to be Queen for the Day....
>
>
>
>
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