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On Tuesday, residents from the Big Springs community spoke out during a public hearing for an annexation request connected to a housing development that is expected to create 300-plus single-family houses.

The developer is planning a large housing development on 118 acres off of Stewart Road this is already zoned for the project and part of the city. Because of the size of the development, a secondary entrance and exit are required, so the developer is requesting an adjacent 15-acre property be annexed into the city to build another road into the development and combine the properties.

The developer, Daniel Liechty, said he is asking for the annexation because he would like both properties in the city and he would like to have sewer service for the smaller lot. Both properties are already owned by the developer, so he could simply build the entrance road they need across the 15-acre property they already own.

Liechty said they plan to put in a pump station and already have easements to connect it to the Walmart pump station.

Several residents voiced concerns over the development, ranging from traffic and safety to watershed issues.

Ryan Cole, who lives directly adjacent to the development, spoke out against it.

“First, Stewart Toad is quite small. There are only two narrow lanes. There’s no shoulder. People drive way too fast around the curvy roads, and it’s simply not safe for hundreds of new residents that would be going in and out of this road. Second, the land in question is down a steep embankment from my pond, which often overflows after a heavy rain,” Cole said.

Andrew Caraway, President of the Homeowners Association of the nearby Greenbrier Trail subdivision echoed Cole’s concerns and said many of the subdivision’s residents feel the same way.

“The main thing is infrastructure,” Caraway said. “You’re adding 300 homes, which means you’re going to probably be adding another 400 to 600 cars on Stewart Road on a daily basis. Are we prepared to handle that?”

After numerous residents voiced opposition to the annexation with concerns primarily over the large connected development, city staff clarified that the larger property is already in the city and the zoning already allows for the 300 homes the developer plans to build, and denying the annexation will not prevent them from building the required secondary entrance.

Council members also reiterated that despite what some residents said during the hearing, the city does not collect property tax. The property is not in the city’s electric footprint, so it also would not benefit from power sales. There is already water in the area, so the only money coming in from the development to the city would be water and sewer sales.

“It would be a loser for the city, probably, when you look at the cost of service or public safety and other things,” said City Manager Patrick Bowie.

A first reading was held for the annexation request but no vote was taken. The issue is expected to come up for a vote at the Jan. 28 council meeting.