Arnold officials want the city limits to expand.
City residents will be asked on Aug. 6 to vote on whether Arnold may annex land that runs along Old Lemay Ferry and Vogel roads southwest of the current city limits.
Community Development Director David Bookless said the six land parcels targeted for annexation total approximately 99.87 acres.
A public hearing about the proposed involuntary annexation will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 18, at City Hall, 2101 Jeffco Blvd., prior to that evening’s City Council meeting.
City Administrator Bryan Richison said Arnold officials want to annex the land in unincorporated Jefferson County because it is not developed.
“We believe there will be development down there, most likely residential,” he said. “Our goal is to make sure whatever develops there is compatible with the city.
“We just think it is going to have an impact given how close it is to the city and how Old Lemay Ferry feeds right into the city. We would like to be the ones overseeing the development given the impact we think it will have.”
Only Arnold residents will vote on the proposed annexation because no registered voters reside in the area the city wants to absorb, Richison said.
He said a simple majority of Arnold voters is needed to annex the land.
City Council members voted unanimously May 16 to declare Arnold’s intention to involuntarily annex the land, place the annexation question on the August ballot and hold a public hearing regarding the proposed annexation.
According to the Jefferson County Assessor Office, the parcel closest to Arnold city limits is near Strawberry Ridge Drive and owned by Hopmeir Enterprises LP and has an assessed value of $1,400.
The next closest piece of land is near Old Lemay Ferry Road, is owned by the Ronald J. Hopmeir trust and has an assessed value of $3,300, those records show.
The Jefferson County Public Water Supply District No. C-1, which serves more than 14,500 customers just outside the Arnold city limits and in parts of Imperial, Barnhart, Antonia, House Springs, High Ridge and Hillsboro, owns the third closest parcel, which has a water tank on it. No assessed value is given for that property, according to the Assessor Office.
The next two parcels are west of Old Lemay Ferry Road and divided by Vogel Road. That land is owned by the Alvin and Laverne Burkard Trust and has a total assessed value of $2,800, records show.
The final piece of land is east of Old Lemay Ferry Road with Vogel Road to the north. It is owned by Compass Box Holdings LLC and has an assessed value of $200, according to the Assessor Office.
City Council documents said most of the property is zoned for residential use, although some of it is zoned for commercial use. Arnold city officials don’t plan to change the zoning, Richison said.
The approximately 99.87 acres is surrounded by homes to the east and west.
If Arnold wanted to also annex the property where those homes are located, it would require a majority vote of those current residents as well as another majority vote of the rest of the city residents.
“The reason we are not looking at (annexing) any of the built areas is because it is already built,” Richison said. “We can’t change what is already built. We can have influence over what has not been built yet. We want to guide that and make sure it is compatible with the residences that are there, even though those homes are not in the city.”
Richison said if the annexation is approved, Arnold would not own the roads in the area, which the county owns and maintains.
“If this is successful, we will have a conversation with the county about that and what makes sense to come into the city and what makes sense to stay in the county,” he said. “Those would be county roads until something is worked out, if something is ever worked out.”
If the annexation is approved, Arnold city limits would extend to the east edge of Simpson Elementary School, 3585 Vogel Road.
Since the school would be adjacent to the city limits, the Fox C-6 School District could ask the city to annex it, which could allow the city to provide school resource officer services to the school, Richison said.
He pointed out, though, that Lone Dell Elementary School, 2500 Tomahawk Drive, is adjacent to the city limits, and Fox officials have never asked for that school to be annexed.
“That is their decision,” Richison said of Fox asking for a voluntary annexation of Lonedell Elementary, or of Simpson Elementary if the proposed annexation passes. “We have made them aware, but we have not had many discussions about it.”