Town of Man asking Logan County Commission to accept annexation of properties
- Robert Fields
- 52 minutes ago
- 4 min read
MAN, WV The Town of Man is requesting the annexation of multiple properties near its municipal limits.
West Virginia cities or towns can ask their county commission to slightly expand their borders through a process called a minor boundary adjustment, but the expansion must be small and can only happen once every two years.
The properties the town seeks to annex sit along the Guyandotte River and branching Huff Creek. On the Guyandotte side south of Man, the new town limits would include the Southern West Virginia Health System Clinic property extending to Man High School.
Southeast of current town limits along Huff Creek, the annexation would include a section of property stretching to Man Elementary and Middle School. It would also include a piece of vacant property across from school grounds.
That property is owned by the McDonald Land Company, which requested to be included in the annexation.
In addition to growing the town limits, Man Mayor John Fekete said the annexation will allow town police to patrol in those areas.
“The hospital property, as you know – there’s a lot of stuff going on there,” he said.
“There are people hanging out, dumping garbage, spinning the grass out – I think they probably do that about every three months. I think they’re off a couple of months because they haven’t been over there in a while. I actually heard of several fights over on that property. I heard of a kid getting ran over while a fight was going on, so that area definitely needs some additional police protection. I think it’s got a lot of possibilities for development later in the future; nice piece of property there where the hospital is. You’ve got the high school and the ball fields. You know, before I moved to the Town of Man, I always thought the high school was within city limits. I mean, you would think Man High School would be in the Town of Man, but it’s not.”
In West Virginia, there are three main ways a city or town can annex, or add, new land to its boundaries. The first way is called annexation by election. In this method, at least five percent of the property owners in the city must sign a petition asking for an election to be held about the proposed annexation. The city government then organizes a vote, and both the people living in the city and those living in the area to be annexed get to vote. For the annexation to happen, a majority of voters in both areas must agree. If the annexation is rejected, the same proposal cannot be voted on again for one year.
The second way is annexation without an election. This method does not require a public vote. Instead, a majority of the people who live in the area to be annexed, as well as a majority of the property owners there, must sign petitions asking to join the city. If these petitions are verified and meet all the requirements, the city government can approve the annexation and send it to the county commission for final approval. This process can be reviewed by a court if someone challenges it.
The third way (and the way the Town of Man is using) is called annexation by minor boundary adjustment. This method is used for small changes to the city’s boundaries. The city must apply to the county commission and provide information such as maps, plans for city services, and statements from everyone who lives or owns property in the area, showing they agree to the annexation. If someone does not respond after being contacted, their consent may be assumed. The county commission reviews the application, holds a public hearing, and decides whether to approve or deny the request. Only one minor boundary adjustment can be made every two years, and there are limits on how much land can be added this way.
This is not the first time the Town of Man has attempted a minor boundary adjustment. In October 2015, an order issued by the Logan County Commission rejected a request by the town due to the inclusion of West Virginia State Route 10 in the annexed borders. The inclusion raised some public concerns because the new border would have run directly against the borders of private properties. This new application removes Route 10, but includes a portion of State Route 80, resulting in the same concerns. However, Mayor Fekete asserts that the town has no interest in acquiring a person’s property without their expressed interest. Even if the town did want to acquire a property, none of the three methods in the state code allow for a forceful annexation.
“Over here is McNeely’s and they’re not in city limits. We already abut them, so if we were going to force somebody, why would we do it now,” Fekete asked.
“This council – I’ve never heard, over the last ten years, anyone say they wanted to force someone into the municipality. And it makes all the sense in the world for everything to be contiguous. When they left that road out, that was the wrong thing to do. That section of road should have been left in there for us to patrol these areas. It doesn’t make any sense to leave this four-lane highway and drive a mile to basically – you know, you’re not in city limits anymore – to get here to protect our children.”
Town council members approved the updated request, sending it to the County Commission for its approval. If approved, commissioners will set a public hearing date and give affected residents the opportunity to voice any concerns.
PHOTO | Robert Fields