Annex plans move ahead: City wants to extend borders to include Shepherd's Grove

Greenwood hopes to soon annex a Center Grove area neighborhood where residents have asked to become part of the city.

The city first needs to extend its planning boundaries, or areas where the city plans future land use because of proximity and the potential of future annexation, planning director Ed Ferguson said. Greenwood has to extend those borders farther west into the Center Grove area and hopes to start that process as soon as this month.

Greenwood wants to quickly act to annex the Shepherds Grove neighborhood just west of State Road 135 because a group of residents also is trying to turn much of White River Township into a town.

Greenwood hopes to start an annexation before the Citizens for Center Grove group turns back in paperwork needed to create a town, council member Bruce Armstrong said. No annexations would be allowed after that proposal is filed with Johnson County, at least until the Johnson County Commissioners decide to take action.

Citizens for Center Grove filed a petition this summer, but county officials found a number of technical issues that needed to be fixed and the group decided to postpone its effort to create a town of about 27,000 residents in White River Township. The group planned to refile a corrected petition in January after two new commissioners take office.

Once that happens, neither Greenwood nor Bargersville could annex any land in the proposed town, Armstrong said. Greenwood could however veto the town because state law lets cities protect land just outside their borders for future growth through annexation.

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