Huntsville is growing quickly — not only in population and employment, but in square footage.
Why it matters: The city has added 2,257 acres in annexations this year, per city data, making it larger in land area than Chicago and raising questions about city services and strategy.
How it works: Huntsville annexes property contiguous to current city limits either by referendum or by petition from property owners.
- Petitions make up 99% of annexations, Kelly Schrimsher, city communications director and planning board member, tells Axios Huntsville.
Zoom in: Each petition is evaluated on both the city’s ability to provide utilities and the impact to existing services, Shane Davis, city urban and economic development director, told Axios in an email.
- The petitions are also reviewed on whether they’ll have a positive impact on things like job creation, residential stock and the city’s tax base.
What they’re saying: “The city never desires to add more property into the current city limits if doing so would cause a negative impact on providing these services,” Davis said…