CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — The city of Portland is about 4000 acres bigger than it was -- this, after another round of annexation was approved by Portland's city council.
The effort is part of a comprehensive plan to expand the city and control growth. 3NEWS spoke with the city and a handful of residents that are being affected.
Portland resident James Bruster said that he thinks the cons of projected city growth outweigh the positives.
"I don't think the city's going to provide me with any services that I don't have now. Plus I'm going to be paying taxes," he said.
Bruster has lived in his home for 40 years and is one of a handful of residents who are impacted by the latest round of annexation approved by city council. He adds that he understands why the city is expanding it's reach.
"Personally, I don't care for it but this is all going to develop out here and they need to be able to control it. I understand that," he said.
Bruster lives on a 1200 sq. ft. plot containing a half dozen homes that will be affected. Altogether, there are four plots being annexed, which total just under 4,000 acres. This annexation only affects these homes, not the farmland itself.
The city said it understands that some people just want to live in the country. But Portland City Manager Randy Wright said it does offer some protection for unwanted development.
"We established early on that we needed to create a growth corridor so that the city can continue to grow and to prevent any encroachment of industry into that growth area. And that's the purpose of our annexation efforts," he said.
Wright said the city population has grown by more than 30-percent in the last decade and now stands at around 23,000.
Bruster said he's looking forward to garbage services but would like to see more attention paid to road conditions.
"The road out here in front of my house was a county road until the last annexation. And it was well maintained by the county. Now it looks like a war zone," he said.
The next round of annexation begins on Jan. 17, where the city will hold a public hearing for future expansion.
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