"It's very rare in that we have a large piece of property that is commonly owned and its owned by a property owner that is willing to restrict their property now."

However, the Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously opposed annexing and zoning the area for commercial and residential use. The land is owned in part by Richland Road Properties LLC and East Richland Road Properties LLC. The city's development services manager Pat Zenner says he has concerns about how development of the area could impact citizens who live nearby.

"We had significant concerns raised by the residents as it related to the density of the project, the scope as it related to the additional commercial development being too intense."

While the Commission opposed the proposal, the City Council plants to vote on it at the end of July. At this time, they can approve the annexation, deny it completely or recommend it back to the Commission for revisions. © Copyright 2012, KBIA