We’ve got a number of problems with the recent 3-2 county commission vote handing over 65-acres of unincorporated land to Rincon in an annexation.
We don’t have a problem with Rincon building a fire station.
We are not sure, however, it needs to be built on Blue Jay road near Rincon’s current city limits, and we are sure not convinced that the county needed to let Rincon annex the entire 65 acres for a fire station that at most needs about 5 acres.
We also have a real problem with the county giving away potential water and sewer customers and wonder what future annexation plans the city has in mind.
The basically undeveloped tract is currently in the water and sewer service delivery area of the county. The annexation changes that and the area will now be in the city of Rincon and can be served by them.
At the moment, water and sewer service to the parcel doesn’t mean much, but with Rincon officials stating they have plans to sell 60 acres of the parcel, the possibilities for development have just increased.
That could mean a fair number of potential water and sewer customers that the county greatly needs are lost.
Rincon can also now rezone the property from AR-1, agricultural residential, to a tighter density residential zoning or even industrial.
So it could also mean the land could be used for some purpose neighbors might balk at.
The most the county can do is make what would most likely be a futile objection and residents living outside the “island” will have no voice, as they have no political representation in Rincon government.
Rincon city officials have stated they would use profit made in a sale of this land to help pay for the fire station.
We’ve said it before regarding this parcel, but cities shouldn’t be in the land speculation business.
Despite the city’s denials, it sure sounds close to the definition of speculation: an investment with considerable risk, but offering the chance of high gain.
Rincon’s risk appears to have at least partly evaporated thanks to three county commissioners. The county will pay the city $11,315 a month to help operate the station.
Another problem is any rezoning vote by Rincon Council members before a possible sale is fraught with problems, as a council vote would likely increase the value of their own property.
Now, Rincon we suppose could agree to let the county continue to provide water and sewer service to the area, but that wasn’t in the current agreement, and we aren’t holding our breath until that happens. The county also has some outs in the agreement, but we feel sure Rincon will hold up their end of this deal. It’s too good to pass up.
While we are glad some people will have their homeowner’s insurance premiums reduced, we can’t get past the fact that more homeowners would benefit from a fire station in the area of Greystone subdivision farther out Blue Jay, than will from a station farther east. At least 35 more homes, and as of 2008, 48 undeveloped lots, according to county numbers. County commissioners Reggie Loper and Steve Mason tried to point this out to their fellow commissioners before a vote, but as usual the trio majority didn’t listen, or didn’t care.
This fact is clearly known to county staff, who have said that a Rincon-Blue Jay Road station might be a good “short-term” solution for fire station needs.
If it’s a short-term solution, why are commissioners making a likely permanent move in annexation?
Residents in the Greystone area have a class 10 ISO rating which is basically equal to no protection. Residents in the Blue Jay Road service area for the most part have an 8b rating. The lower the number the better and we hope the county will continue to consider a station in that area.
This annexation also makes it an easy jump for Rincon to annex more property in the area with the county having no say in the matter.
Judging by the city’s past, more annexations in that area just seem to be a matter of time.