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Annexation, zoning requests top Midway council meeting
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Even smaller cities – like Midway – generate a considerable amount of official business and the Midway City Council held two separate sessions Sept. 23 to keep up.

In the morning work session Mayor Levern Clancy Jr. told the council of a new development in the construction of Midway’s new city hall building. The city hall site is on the south side of Islands Highway as is the city’s water/sewer plant but original plans called for laying a line under the highway to access a manhole.

Clancy told the council that a manhole had been found on the south side of the highway and that it would be used to avoid boring under the highway. The necessary state permit revision will probably take a couple of weeks, Clancy said.

Much of the evening regular council meeting dealt with a request to annex and rezone property along Charlie Butler Road for development of Phase II of Auburn Ridge. Developer Clyde Dryden petitioned for about 16 acres of unincorporated Liberty County be included in the city limits of Midway and rezoned as Planned Unit Development. 

Councilwoman Melice Gerace asked why PUD zoning was requested for a subdivision: “Why not zone it as residential?” Dryden said, “PUD zoning allows us to vary lot sizes, setbacks and so on for our customers.” He noted that PUDs are now required to have Homeowners Associations.

The Liberty Consolidated Planning Commission had recommended approval of the rezoning and annexation with one special condition. State law forbids the creation of new jurisdictional islands and the LCPC called for a legal opinion that the Midway-county measure would comply. No legal opinion was available at the September meeting.

The routine checklist for zoning actions revealed that the PUD was in partial conflict with the comprehensive Land Use Plan. The plan intended that the part of the property nearest Islands Highway would be for commercial use, LCPC Executive Director Jeff Ricketson explained.

After several varied motions, including one that ended in a 2-2 tie vote, the council decided to consider the Auburn Ridge matter at its October meeting.  

A similar zoning and annexation issue is also scheduled for the Oct. 14 meeting; Dryden has petitioned that 79 acres near the intersection of Isle of Wight Road and Islands Highway be zoned PUD and annexed.

In other business agreed to business licenses for a hair salon, Studio 84, at 217A Butler St. and a service for cleaning out the vents of clothes dryers, Allout Dryer Vent Cleaning, which Lewis Reynolds will operate from his home.


Parker can be contacted via email at joeparkerjr@hotmail.com.

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