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Jefferson taking up islands annexing again
Few residents show up for council discussion
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JEFFERSON — The city of Jefferson is once again taking up the issue of eliminating county "islands" within city limits.

During Monday’s work session, the Jefferson City Council discussed annexing and rezoning nearly 50 individual properties. For the most part, the properties are located along Holders Siding Road, Washington Street and U.S. 129.

The 49 properties range in size from around one-third of an acre to more than 40 acres. While most of the properties fall under either residential or agricultural zoning, there are also several commercial properties that may potentially be affected by the annexations.

The city initially took up the issue of eliminating county islands in December.

While dozens of property owners attended the city’s work session then to discuss the annexation proposal, this time only four property owners showed up to express concerns.

Billy Duke, who owns a 0.86 acre property on Washington Street, expressed concerns about a tax increase if his property is rezoned from agricultural to commercial.

"It’s a real small, land-locked piece of property," Duke said. "It’s undeveloped and will stay undeveloped."

Due to the property being undeveloped, Jefferson Mayor Jim Joiner asked city staff to research if it would be beneficial for Duke’s property to be rezoned residential instead.

During the meeting, the council also discussed updating sign ordinances to address moving messages.

After a brief discussion, city staff was instructed to move forward with eliminating language in the sign ordinance that prohibits scrolling messages.

Although no action was taken during Monday’s meeting, the council is expected to vote on each of the items that were discussed during its voting session on Feb. 23.