By Gary Lloyd
PINSON — Call it annexation jubilation.
The city of Pinson this year has added 62 parcels to the city limits, plus 77 more parcels — including several acreage tracts — in the Aspen Ridge subdivision as a result of a September annexation referendum in which residents of the neighborhood voted to join the Pinson limits.
Of the 62 parcels, most were houses with the exception of the referendum, though most there were houses, too. The annexed area in Aspen Ridge encompasses about 110 acres, which includes about 60 lots, with some not yet built on. Pinson Mayor Hoyt Sanders estimated that 50 homes could be located in the area. Over 60 percent of the subdivision has already been annexed into Pinson.
Some of the 139 total parcels added this year have a commercial zoning, but most are homes. Sanders noted that along with the Aspen Ridge referendum, approximately 150 acres were annexed in that area by consent and separate ordinance.
“I would say this year has been a large year, even for us,” Sanders said of annexations.
The 2010 U.S. Census showed Pinson with a population of 7,163. Sanders said that using a rough estimate of two persons per house/parcel would equate to 280 people added to the city this year. He said it “certainly puts this year as one of our highest.”
Sanders said as Pinson has grown and prospered, citizens have seen the benefits of joining the city. Those benefits continue to come.
A project that will move Pinson forward is the construction of the Northern Beltline, a 52-mile corridor that will connect Interstate 59 in northeast Jefferson County to the Interstate 459 interchange with I-20/59 near Bessemer. The first segment, estimated to be completed by late 2016, will connect Alabama Highway 75 and Alabama Highway 79 in the Pinson area. Construction there is ongoing.
“Certainly with the beltway coming that will provide welcomed commercial growth in our area,” Sanders said.
The forthcoming city park, which will be located between Sweeney Hollow Road and Glen Brook Road, will also be a welcomed addition. The Pinson City Council earlier this year voted to rename Alabama Highway 75 from Saturn Lane to the Highway 151 intersection Pinson Boulevard. The change is in order to differentiate the Center Point and Pinson sections of Highway 75. It lends more of an identity to the city. Pinson Valley High School had an enrollment of 1,078 students as of Aug. 18, and ascended to Class 6A status for the first time since 2009.
Pinson incorporated as a city on April 2, 2004, and continues to grow. Except for a short time when a moratorium while a U.S. Justice Department filing was in the process and didn’t allow annexations, Pinson has routinely annexed parcels the first and third Thursday each month, when the Pinson City Council convenes.
“We annex at almost every meeting, and always have,” Sanders said.
Contact Gary Lloyd at news@trussvilletribune.com and follow him on Twitter @GaryALloyd.