St. Ignatius annexation advanced

Colfax City council Monday night approved annexation of 1.59 acres of land behind St. Ignatius, the site of a proposed housing development, on a 4-2 vote. The vote came after the council received a petition from 22 residents of the South Hill area who objected to annexing the property at this time without more information on the type of development which could go on the site.

The 1.59 acre site is part of the St. Ignatius property which had been located in the county. The city sought to annex the land to place all the St. Ignatius land inside the city limits and allow the developer a single entity for compliance if and when the project gets underway.

The former St. Ignatius Hospital building and the power plant building on East Street have been located in the city limits. The 1.59 acres in the county is located south of the hospital building property.

The property is owned by Anthony Girges who has vowed to undertake some type of housing project on the site and pursue some type of future development with the former hospital building.

D. John Elliott, who lives in the 1000 block of South Mill, presented the petition with 22 signatures to the city council after speaking in opposition to the annexation. Elliott read a Daily Bulletin account which reported one of the proposals for the property behind the hospital building could be construction of as many as 24 duplex units to meet a need for housing in the city.

Elliott said he was concerned that such a project would change what he described as the peace and quiet of the South Hill neighborhood, lead to more traffic congestion and parking problems and impact the rental market.

Elliott said he and others wanted to know if plans for the housing addition would involve any federal funding such as a Housing and Urban Development program.

Elliott read some of the comments from residents who signed which were listed on the petition. Three of the signers specifically objected to HUD housing.

Mike Williams, who lives in the 1300 block of S. East, told the council neighborhood residents were basically wondering what was going on to the site and asked why the city was in a rush to annex the property.

Joan Elder-Taylor, who lives on Fairview, added she was concerned about the impact for traffic which could come with a large development on the site.

“How are you going to move the people?” she asked.

During the council discussion, councilwoman Jeannette Solimine said the project would eventually go through hearings by the planning commission, and the council, under the city's recently passed development ordinance.

Councilman Jim Kackman said he believed the 24 duplex proposal would be “a worst case scenario for density” for the 1.59 acre site. Kackman also suggested the city could consider annexing the property as a single residence R-1 zone instead of the proposed R-2 zone which allows multiple housing. It was approved for R-2.

Colfax Police Chief Rick McNannay said leaving the property outside of the city would mean city law enforcement, including code enforcement, could not be done by the police department.

At the start of the hearing, Bob Hauser of Colfax, who annexed 16 acres to the city for 40 housing lots in Hauser's addition, said he endorsed the project which he believed would bring future growth to the city.

Council members Solimine, Kackman, Steve Bretveld and Whitney Aguilar voted in favor of the annexation. Tom Huntwork and Steve Holberg voted against. Councilman Al Vorderbruggen was not present.

Elliott after the session said he felt the council disregarded concerns for the residents when they went ahead with the annexation approval.

“This was a grass roots effort by local residents with a petition signed by 22 people. We asked only for a postponement of the vote and an explanation of what would be built," he noted.

Elliott, who told the council he had discussed the project with Girges, said they didn't oppose investment in the property but didn't think a large concentration of government funded housing was a good fit for Colfax.