The Aberdeen City Council officially put the controversial annexation of 524 acres on hold Monday, pending the results of a voter referendum.
Two proclamations at the meeting suspended the annexation of the Wetlands Golf Course north of the city and set into motion the election to determine if the City Council?s July 19 decision to expand the city?s borders would stand.
Opponents of the annexation turned in a petition with 2,515 valid signatures. Election law now requires the matter be put to two votes within 90 days, one by all the city?s voters and another by the 45 voters in the area to be annexed, said Harford County Elections Supervisor Kim Atkins. Both votes must pass by a simple majority in order for the annexation to stand.
Arthur Koszoru, who helped collect signatures for the petition, told The Examiner that he was happy the grassroots effort had succeeded so far.
“The people will have an opportunity to vote on the annexation, to express their wishes,” he said.
Now, the city must set a date and decide on timelines for voter registration, absentee balloting and posting notice of the vote, Atkins said. The election has tentatively been set for Oct. 3, between the September primary and the November general elections. Questions cannot be put on primary ballots, Atkins said, and the deadline has passed for adding questions onto the general election ballot.
“Hopefully everything will happen in October,” Atkins said.
The petition for a referendum was nearly challenged by both the developer and the city, on the basis that the volunteers collecting signatures allegedly said the annexation in question was 1,000 acres instead of 524 acres.
“The wording of the [annexation] resolution was on the back of the petition, which we had people read,” said Jerry Queen, a spokesman for the opposition group.
