The Ridges community along Corridor G became a step closer to becoming part of South Charleston Thursday evening.
South Charleston City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance to annex to The Ridges during its meeting.
"It is a good fit for South Charleston because if you look at it, the Corridor G area toward Lincoln County is about the only place we have to grow as a community," South Charleston Mayor Frank Mullens said.
He said the community reached out to the city to petition to become part of South Charleston.
As part of that vision, Mullens added he would like to see the city's sewer line extend beyond its current point of the Holiday Inn Express along Corridor G to Lincoln County.
"It's an opportunity for South Charleston to grow, to grow in population, to bring in some new quality housing; it's an opportunity to bring in some new economic development," Mullens said. "It brings a lot of positives to our community."
If council passes the second reading it will then go before the Kanawha County Commission for approval.
The city anticipates the process being complete by June, or early July, and already is budgeting to add capacity to service the additional areas.
"We are planning for our vision to grow to the Lincoln County line; not just the annexation today," Mullens said. "We are putting in place a financial plan, a budget plan, to be able to annex these areas and serve them properly, in a responsible way, both financially and from a service standpoint to the residents and businesses that are going to be part of our community."
It's a long process that doesn't happen overnight, Mullens said.
Mullens believes the city's services, like twice a week trash pick-up and snow removal, are the top draw for communities to petition the city for annexation.
In other business, council:
Passed the second reading of two ordinances to update the city code to comply with state law
Passed meeting minutes from April 6 and 18.