A public hearing over a petition for annexation was held when Knox City Council members met on Thursday. Starke County Economic Development Foundation Special Projects Coordinator Ron Gifford spoke on the behalf of the petitioner, J.W. Hicks Holding LLC.
Gifford explained that the Hicks organization previously purchased some property on the corner of Pacific Avenue. He said that when the company started looking into potential expansion, some records were reviewed and they discovered the property to the south, formerly the Hewlett property, was never annexed into the city.
He mentioned that while it was rezoned from an industrial zone (M1) to a heavy-industrial zone (M2) to match the rest of the Hicks-owned property, the necessary steps were never taken to have the land annexed. In order to get the 17-acres of land incorporated into the city, neighboring property owners had to be notified and a public hearing had to be held.
During the hearing, no public comments were provided. The hearing was closed and Mayor Dennis Estok said that members will consider an ordinance to officially annex the property during the next city council meeting on May 24th.
