Newberry eyes 185 parcels for annexation

The Newberry City Commission held a first hearing of three ordinances on Monday that would leave the annexation of portions of the City of Newberry reserve area up to a vote by owners of the affected properties.

As part of the Alachua County Boundary Readjustment Act, the Alachua County annexation team has asked the City of Newberry to have a referendum in areas with pockets, enclaves and fingers, said City Attorney Scott Walker.

“The City of Newberry looks like a big piece of Swiss cheese,” explained Newberry Vice Mayor Bill Conrad.

Three separate portions of the county will be up for annexation into the City of Newberry by referendum - if the ordinances are adopted by the commission. In all, there are 185 distinct properties that could become part of the City of Newberry.

The first and second sections are located in the northwest area of the county near High Springs. They are up for referendum to fill in the enclaves that were left after the Loncala Phosphate Company was annexed into Newberry around a year and a half ago. The first section, which is covered by ordinance 22-10, is located south of the property. The second section, covered by ordinance 23-10, includes properties that are adjacent to or east of the property. The third section, covered by ordinance 24-10, includes properties near the Komoko Miniature Horse Ranch and State Road 26. This area is up for annexation in part because the ranch has expressed interest in annexing into the city.

Newberry City Planner Lowell Garrett said that the Alachua County Supervisor of Elections will notify the owners of the properties, and they will receive a ballot for the mail out election on April 29. Each property owner will have one vote, with the annexations being approved or denied by the majority of votes among the property owners for each section.

If the annexation is approved, property owners will pay ad valorem taxes to the City of Newberry rather than to Alachua County. Conrad estimated that on average, the owners’ property taxes will increase by one millage point, which is equal to one dollar per every thousand dollars of property value.

Newberry has expanded from 1½ square miles to 675 square miles in the last 10 years through annexation, Conrad said. He said that benefits such as localized representation, more relaxed building regulations and access to the Newberry Fire Department would be worth the small hike in taxes.

The commission is scheduled to adopt the three ordinances on Jan. 11.