White Sulphur Springs City Council briefly convened Wednesday evening to pass the first reading of an ordinance to annex city owned-property into city limits.
According to Mayor Lloyd Haynes, the property was acquired by the city in 1984 from CSX, and while city maps indicate it is within city limits, county maps do not.
“We think somewhere along the way, a ball got dropped,” Haynes said.
The property in question is a 162.17-acre on Big Draft Road, which the city plans to sell to a nonprofit agency in order for them to build Hope Village, a planned community designed to accommodate White Sulphur residents who lost their homes in the June 23 flood.
The council voted unanimously to pass the first reading. They will meet in special session on Wednesday, Aug. 31, at 5:15 p.m. in city hall to vote on the second reading of the ordinance. Annexation is necessary for the neighborhood to receive city water, sewer, police and fire protection.
Following that piece of housekeeping, the council also voted unanimously to pass a temporary zoning variance to allow FEMA trailers anywhere in the city limits. Current zoning laws demand that mobile homes be confined to mobile home parks.
That variance also passed unanimously.