Homeowners finally get land annexed into Hoover after 11 years of trying

It took 11 years, but Dan and Teresa Browning finally got their house near the Ross Bridge community annexed into Hoover tonight, but only after lengthy discussion.

Annexation has become a hot topic in Hoover, with school board members warning the city that Hoover schools aren’t prepared to handle new homes that likely would come with significant expansion of the city limits.

The Brownings started building their home off Silver Spur Lane in 2002 and quickly learned that Hoover was annexing what is now known as the Ross Bridge community.

In 2006, as homes began to sell in Ross Bridge, the Brownings submitted a petition for Hoover to annex their 7-acre property, which adjoins the Ross Bridge property. Ross Bridge actually surrounds the Brownings’ land and nine other parcels that are unincorporated.

The Brownings’ daughter was 2 years old at the time, and they wanted her to be educated in Hoover schools. But the Hoover City Council at the time had taken a stance that it would not annex additional property and never acted upon the annexation request.

In 2012, as the Ashby Apartments were being built on the east side of Ross Bridge Parkway, near where the Brownings live, they thought it would be a good time to ask for annexation again.

In May 2013, the council’s annexation committee met for the first time in seven years and considered the Brownings’ petition. The matter went to the full City Council for consideration, but was removed from the agenda after the Hoover Fire Department said their house was not close enough to a fire hydrant for fire protection.

In October 2013, the Brownings had a fire hydrant installed and applied for annexation again, but their request was tabled in February 2014. Some council members expressed concern about whether the Brownings might subdivide their property and allow more homes, even though the Brownings said that was not their intent. Council members also questioned whether their driveway was wide enough for a Hoover fire truck.

Their annexation request ultimately was denied in July 2014.

With a new City Council elected last year, the Brownings decided to ask for annexation again, and this time it passed, with a 5-2 vote. Councilmen Mike Shaw and John Lyda both voted against the annexation.

Shaw said if the decision were based on the Brownings being good people and their sincere desire to be Hoover residents, he would have voted yes. But he believes annexing land into the city is a big deal and he doesn’t believe this is in the best interests of the city.

Councilman John Lyda said certain aspects of the Brownings’ property, such as the unpaved driveway leading to their property, do not meet city specifications. He also said that annexations of property not immediately surrounded by the city limits open the door to what could be a lot of growth. The city’s infrastructure has not caught up with the growth that already has occurred, he said.

Council President Gene Smith said the issue of fire protection and their driveway was moot because the Fire Department already has agreed to serve their property if they paid fire dues.

Councilman Casey Middlebrooks said that, to him, the Brownings’ property is surrounded by Hoover. They don’t have the option to annex into any other city, and in his view, the city has left them out in the cold.

“To me, this is more about the idea of quality of life for these homeowners,” he said. “They have shown dedication and passion to wanting to be a part of this city, and I applaud them for that.”

Councilman Curt Posey said the Brownings have only one child that might enter Hoover schools. He said he might feel differently if this were a larger tract of land, but they have only 7 acres and no intention of subdividing their property further.

Councilman Derrick Murphy, a former school board member, said city officials need to sit down with school officials and develop a plan and process for considering annexations. However, in this case, he believes the homeowners have done what has been asked of them, and they should be allowed into the city.

Riverchase resident Arnold Singer told the council members they need to put a moratorium on all annexations until the city can complete a master plan that addresses the topic of annexation.

New city planner Mac Martin Jr. said the master planning process should start in June and take eight to 10 months once a consultant is selected to assist.

After tonight’s council meeting, Teresa Browning said she felt great about becoming a Hoover resident finally.

“Persistence pays off,” she said.

She appreciates the willingness of some of the new council members to look at her family’s situation differently and the support of people like Councilman John Greene all along, she said.

At this point, she’s not sure what her daughter will do about school. She is now in middle school and already enrolled at Altamont for the coming school year, she said. But she is glad to have a chance to enjoy the other amenities that Hoover residents enjoy, she said.

Two other homeowners requesting annexation tonight were not as fortunate. The council voted 6-1 to deny David Havron’s request to annex his house at 2173 Silver Spur Lane (near the Brownings) and 4-3 to deny Diane Robertson’s request to annex her house at 720 Carl Raines Lake Road near the Riverchase community.

Smith and Posey both said they felt differently about Havron’s request because his property is up for sale and he does not plan to continue living there. He is just trying to use the city of Hoover to get more money by having the property in the city, they said.

As for Robertson, she said she has lived on Carl Raines Lake Road since 1999. She already pays fire dues to Hoover to receive fire protection but would like to get Hoover police protection, too, she said.

Hoover planning consultant Bob House noted that while Robertson’s property does touch the city of Hoover, none of the houses that front Carl Raines Lake Road are in Hoover.

He also noted that the amount of unincorporated land surrounded by Hoover in this area is much larger than the unincorporated land in the vicinity of Silver Spur Lane. There are probably a couple of hundred unincorporated acres in the area near Carl Raines Lake Road, House said.

The City Council did approve one other annexation tonight, but it was not residential land. The council voted unanimously to annex land that includes an American Family Care business at 5410 U.S. 280.