Rough annexation area drawn by the Hoover Sun based on description by the Hoover city planner.
The city of Hoover is considering annexation of roughly 200 acres in the Indian Ford Fire District on the southwestern edge of Hoover, mostly between the Bessemer Airport and Morgan Road, City Planner Mac Martin said. The area encircled is the general vicinity of that property, Martin said. The Hoover city limits are shown in purple, while the Bessemer city limits is in pink and the Helena city limits is in light yellow at left.
The city of Hoover may beat Helena to the punch in trying to annex portions of the Indian Ford Fire District that are next to the southwestern portion of Hoover.
Helena has called for an election to be held on Aug. 8 to allow residents of the Indian Ford Fire District to vote on whether they want to be annexed into Helena, but about 20 property owners covering roughly 200 acres in that area are asking Hoover to annex them instead, Hoover City Planner Mac Martin said.
The Hoover City Council held a special meeting Thursday night to have a first reading of an ordinance to annex roughly half of eight properties totaling 6 acres off Morgan Road in the Indian Ford Fire District. A vote on that annexation is scheduled for Monday, July 17.
The property has to be annexed in phases because it is close to the Bessemer city limits.
Also on Monday, the council plans to have a first reading of an ordinance to annex property at the intersection of Morgan Road and South Shades Crest Road that contains a new Chevron gasoline station. That property also is in the Indian Ford Fire District, Martin said.
There are other property owners in the fire district that also are asking to be annexed into Hoover, he said. Most, if not all, of them are in the area between the Bessemer Airport and Morgan Road, he said.
Most of the property is either residential or agricultural land, but it has the potential to be developed commercially, especially with the ongoing project to widen Morgan Road to five lanes, Martin said.
“We see commercial viability there,” he said. “We would like to be position in case those opportunities come up.”
Commercial land tends to be more valuable to government entities due to the taxes that can be generated. One of the tracts seeking annexation is 85 acres, Martin said.
The properties coming up for an annexation vote Monday are zoned for agricultural use, Martin said. The 6 acres in total being considered for annexation there have two homes on them, he said. The property would retain its agricultural zoning if annexed, but the owners could later ask that the land be rezoned, he said.
The annexation is tied to an agreement that the property owners receive a rebate for the non-educational portion of property taxes in Hoover for five years, Martin said. Hoover also would cover any fire dues owed to the Indian Ford Fire District for those properties, he said.
There also is a tax rebate agreement tied to the annexation of the Chevron station at the corner of Morgan Road and South Shades Crest Road. Holden Energy, the property owner, would receive a 50% rebate of retail sales taxes for goods sold inside the convenience store and a rebate of the non-education portion of Hoover property taxes for five years, said Greg Knighton, Hoover’s economic development manager.
Martin said some of the property owners in this area initially became interested in annexing into Hoover when they learned Hoover was trying to annex 300 to 400 acres of land on the west side of the Bessemer Airport in the territory of the McAdory Fire District.
The city had an extensive list of properties it was trying to annex to allow for future growth, Martin said.
“The city is largely confined by other municipalities,” Martin said. “This is really one of the few growth corridors we have available.”
Hoover tried to get the Jefferson County legislative delegation to push an annexation act through the Legislature to accomplish that annexation, but that was unsuccessful this past legislative session, Martin said.
“That particular project is on hold right now,” he said. “I’m really not apprised of all the details of where that ended up and why.”
Hoover City Administrator Allan Rice, who was placed on administrative leave in June and then announced he was retiring effective Aug. 1, was handling a good bit of that project, Martin said.
Owners of several other small parcels of unincorporated land around the city also are seeking to have their property annexed by the Hoover City Council, including properties at 8167 Annika Drive, 1523 Highland Gate Point, 2440 Southwood Trace, 2821 Sterling Way, 3854 Whippoorwill Drive Southeast, 3851 Whippoorwill Drive Southeast, 3875 Whippoorwill Drive Southeast and 249 and 250 South Burbank Drive.
Most of those are small parcels surrounded by the city, Martin said. The largest of those is about 9 or 10 acres at 249 and 250 South Burbank Drive, off Chapel Road, and that annexation would be contingent on there being no more than four dwellings on the property, City Clerk Wendy Dickerson said.
All of those annexations are scheduled for a first reading on Monday, July 17.
