SPRINGFIELD, Ore. (KMTR) -- The City of Springfield is looking to expand its city limits to incorporate more of Glenwood in the next few months.
Springfield is looking to annex one of the largest pieces of Glenwood into its city limits by annexing Franklin Boulevard, the main road that goes through Glenwood.
The Glenwood stretch of Franklin is currently controlled by the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT). The city wants to annex Franklin Boulevard from the I-5 bridge to the U-Haul business near the Springfield bridge. From there, Springfield is also looking to annex the road south to McVey Highway and the 30th Avenue overpass.
Springfield says annexing Franklin is a huge part of revitalizing Glenwood because it will allow the city to spend money on utility and road work in the area. Springfield city officials say many businesses have contacted the city looking to purchase property in the Glenwood area for redevelopment. However, the city says many of the businesses can’t move forward with redevelopment without infrastructure improvements.
"They've been out ahead of the infrastructure, they've been ahead of the transportation network, they've been ahead of the available utilities. So we need to provide this necessary step . . . this necessary . . . 'backbone' of the development in Glenwood in order for that to continue,” says Andy Limbird, a planner for the City of Springfield.
The city also wants to annex the site of the old Tom’s Tapper Tavern on Franklin Boulevard. The property is owned by the city. None of the proposed property that the city wants to annex is private property. Total, it’s about thirty acres.
The Springfield City Council will take up the annexation topic at a Tuesday, January 223 work session. A resolution is up for a vote that day which states the intent to annex the property. The official annexation work will likely begin this spring.
