By Frank Morris
OVERLAND PARK, KS – Overland Park is going to swell in size by about eight and a half square miles. The Johnson County Commission voted to allow the city to annex the land, much of which lies beneath its southern borders.
Overland Park had sought to incorporate 15 square miles, a chunk of land the size of Leawood. The proposed annexation sparked a fight that pitted semi-rural homeowners, generally happy with their fire and sheriff's department protection, against the city.
County Commission Chairwoman Annabeth Surbaugh says moving ahead to allow the annexation was a tough decision.
"This is my fifth annexation, and I've never met anyone who wanted to be annexed. There's more city regulations, in almost all cases, and we always hear that county services are fabulous at annexation time," she says.
Surbaugh also says the commission is allowing Overland Park to pick up land that's contiguous to its existing boundaries, and already ripe for development.
A map of the annexed area can be found here. The Johnson County Commission has approved the annexation of the areas marked 1, 2, and 3.