Commission recommends expanding planning zone

By Staff
Clif Knight, Hartselle Enquirer
Hartselle Planning Commission voted unanimously, with eight of 10 members present, to move forward on a proposed expansion of the city’s extraterritorial planning jurisdiction (EPJ) at a meeting on Tuesday.
The move gave City Planner Jeremy Griffith the authority to begin formal advertisement of a resolution, which proposes to extend the EPJ up to one and one-half miles from the city limits. Currently, the jurisdiction boundary extends up to one-half mile from the city limits, with there being no difference between the two boundaries in some areas. The proposal will be subject to a public hearing and consideration at the commission’s next meeting April 3.
The present EPJ follows section lines and does not change when property adjoining the city limits is annexed. Certificates from the city are required for division and consolidation of property and the city’s building code is applicable. Processing fees apply but the city’s taxes do not.
Griffith said the proposed change would enable the EPJ to grow as the city grows and also bring the city in close conformity with state law. Cities of Hartselle’s population have the authority to establish an EPJ up to five miles from the city limits.
Griffith said the proposed change would have little bearing on north and south EPJ boundaries where Hartselle’s city limits and those of Falkville, Priceville and Decatur meet.
Lee Greene, a local civil engineer, said the engineering cost for a development in the EPJ runs about 30 to 40 percent more than what it would be in the county because of a stricter building code.
The planning body acted on other matters as follows: