The Locust Grove City Council approved a major annexation and rezoning as expected at its December 3 regular meeting, and time will tell what exactly is done with the property in the long run.

The council annexed 98.3 acres on the west side of Davis Lake Road between Colvin Drive and Pine Grove Road. The vote was 3-2 with Vernon Ashe, Otis Hammock and Willie Taylor voting in favor. Keith Boone and Carlos Greer voted against the request.

The exact same vote breakdown occurred on the subsequent motion to rezone the property from RA (residential agricultural) to R-3 (medium/high-density single-family residential). According to a summary of the meeting minutes, the move was “for consistency with the Joint Comprehensive Land Use Plan.”

The Henry County Board of Commissioners submitted a formal objection to the annexation in October due to the original plan to rezone the site to M-1 (manufacturing). The county’s future land use map designates that property for low- and medium-density residential development, which this proposal is not consistent with, county staff said.

County officials said at the time that the change would result in a substantial change in “intensity of allowable use of property and change to a significantly different allowable use;” differ substantially from existing uses suggested by the county’s comprehensive land use plan, zoning ordinances and land use ordinances; and result in increased infrastructure demands related to the M-1 zoning classification.

The objection was dropped after the city announced plans for a residential zoning. The county attorney stated that, if the zoning were consistent with the county’s land use plan, the other legal requirements for annexation were met.

But some in the community have expressed concern that residential use may not be the long-term plan. According to city ordinance, the applicant can come back to the council after 12 months and request a rezoning, at which time the county cannot object since the site is already in the city.