A proposed annexation plan has prompted legal action in Sarpy County. The Sarpy County Attorney’s office announced Wednesday their plans to sue the city of Gretna.
The City of Gretna has plans to annex land, which would include Vala's Pumpkin Patch and Nebraska Outlet Mall. Gretna leaders said the plan would allow them to “maintain control of two gateway community entrances.” The plan would add roughly 3-thousand residents.
The proposed annexations contain an Interstate 80 gateway and community entrance to Gretna. On Tuesday, Gretna City Council held its first of three hearings on the proposal. The ordinances were all unanimously approved by the board. The second hearing was scheduled for Wednesday night.
The lawsuit filed Wednesday states, "the plaintiff will suffer immediate irreparable harm to an essential governmental function of counties, namely zoning."
Sarpy County lawyers filed a temporary restraining order that mentioned the ordinances. The order states, "If enforced, those Ordinances would remove large areas of land from Sarpy County's zoning jurisdiction. As a result, Sarpy County would lose building permit fees and Arterial Street Improvement Fees. Based upon preliminary calculations, this would result in the loss of more than $2.5 million dollars in fees.
The lawsuit specifically targets two of the ordinances which include farmland. They say the plans conflict with a state statute.