Bryan city leaders have agreed to move forward with its annexation plan.

The council voted Tuesday to proceed, which could lead to the city's annexation of five areas in Brazos County. Those areas total about 6,600 acres.

Two of the areas are on the east side of Highway 6, while the other three sections are on the west side of the city. Click on the link below to see the map.

Public hearings will now be held for residents to voice their concerns.

It could take about five to six months to complete the annexation.

City of Bryan Press Release:

During its regular meeting on March 24, the Bryan City Council voted to direct staff to proceed with procedural requirements that may eventually lead to the City's annexation of five areas in Brazos County. Annexation of these areas will still require at least two public hearings, the preparation of service plans detailing how municipal services will be provided to these areas and the adoption of ordinances by City Council, before annexation is completed. It is anticipated that it will take approximately five to six months to complete this city-initiated annexation, in accordance with State law and the City Charter.

The Council had originally authorized staff to initiate annexation procedures for four of the five areas in July 2008. The process was delayed for several months as the Council further evaluated the impact of recent changes to Texas annexation law on the City's options for annexation.

The total land in the five areas now being considered for annexation is about 6,600 acres. Specifically, the following five areas are now being considered for annexation:

Proposed Annexation Area North comprises about 1,200 acres of land and generally located between North Harvey Mitchell Parkway (F.M. 2818) and North Texas Avenue, north of Sandy Point Road. This area is also commonly referred to as the City's "doughnut hole" as it is currently completely surrounded by Bryan's city limits.

Proposed Annexation Area Northwest is about 1,700 acres of land surrounding the intersection of State Highway 47 and State Highway 21 West and extending generally northwest from the current city limits to Fazzino Lane, Luza Lane, a Union Pacific Railroad right-of-way and west of Houston Road.

Proposed Annexation Area West encompasses about 1,300 acres of land generally located between North Harvey Mitchell Parkway (F.M. 2818) and State Highway 47, north of West Villa Maria Road along both sides of Leonard Road.

Proposed Annexation Area East comprises about 1,700 acres of land bounded by the current city limits, Old Reliance Road, Merka Road, Steep Hollow Road and extending along both sides of Ethan Lane.

Proposed Annexation Area Southeast Corridor encompasses about 760 acres of land in a corridor that extends generally southeast from the current city limits at Cole Lane along the north side of State Highway 30 for a distance of 3.5 miles, to approximately 1,500 feet east from its intersection with Lake Louise Road.

The City Council amended the Proposed Annexation Area East to also include land on the south side of F.M. 1179, south of Steep Hollow Road. The Council removed Annexation Area Southeast from consideration for annexation at this time. Area Southeast encompassed about 2,000 acres north of Elmo Weedon Road and adjoining the south side of Steep Hollow Road.

The Council added proposed Annexation Area Southeast Corridor, which was not previously under consideration for annexation. This area includes all lots of the Enchanted Oaks Subdivision and otherwise extends mostly along existing parcel lines to the boundary of the city's current extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ).

In the next couple of weeks, all affected property owners in the areas under consideration will be formally notified, in writing, of the City's annexation plans. Property owners will be mailed the dates, times and meeting locations for public hearings regarding the annexation proposal. During these meetings, all persons interested in the annexation are given the opportunity to express their opinion on the proposed annexation. Meeting dates still need to be finalized, but public hearings are expected to be held within the next three to four months. Details about these public hearings will also be published on the city's website at http://www.bryantx.gov, the city's government access cable channel (Suddenlink Cable Channel 16) and in The Eagle.

Recent changes to Texas annexation law require a city to offer those property owners in an area proposed for annexation whose land is appraised for ad valorem tax purposes as agricultural ("AG exempt") or wildlife management use or timber land, to enter into a development agreement. Simply put, the agreement, if accepted, guarantees the continuation of the extraterritorial status of a property. Owners of qualifying property (e.g., AG exempt property) in the new areas that are now also under consideration for annexation (i.e., parts of the revised Area East and the Area Southeast Corridor), will be offered the same original development agreement that was offered to owners in the other areas that have been under consideration for annexation since July 2008.

During its meeting on March 24, the Council also voted to adopt an addendum to that original development agreement. This addendum allows a property owner, without violating or voiding the original development agreement:

To subdivide his/her land into parcels of greater than 5 acres each, not to exceed four additional parcels; and to construct one residential structure, on each parcel, so long as each parcel has access, and no public improvement is being dedicated, and each parcel is occupied solely by relatives of the property owner within the first or second degree of consanguinity.

All owners of qualifying property (e.g., AG exempt property) in all five areas under consideration for annexation will have the option to accept an addendum to that original development agreement. Property owners will have 60 days to accept or reject the development agreement and/or the development agreement addendum.