Freeport Council Weighs 1,000-Acre Annexation Tied to Marquis Way Bypass
Freeport City Council took no vote on annexing roughly 1,000 acres for the Marquis Way East bypass but directed staff to negotiate road right-of-way and utility commitments with the developer before bringing an ordinance back for a first reading.
Council faced a request from American Fidelity to annex a large block of land north of the city that would hold the future Marquis Way East roadway and utility corridor. City Attorney Clay Adkinson told the council the annexation is the right moment to negotiate — not later at land-use — because the road the city must build would run directly through the property. He recommended the council authorize himself and City Manager Mark Martin to ask the developer to donate the right-of-way as a starting point, noting it avoids extraterritorial jurisdiction and state-funding questions and that the donation would benefit from city road construction.
Adkinson cautioned the two decisions cannot be tied as contract zoning and that the city is not refusing annexation if the donation is declined, but said Freeport has been firm over the past year that expansions beyond its traditional center must serve a public purpose. Several council members said a hard look at boundaries is needed before ballooning the city, with Councilwoman Elizabeth Brannon noting the comprehensive plan already defines an urban service boundary stopping shy of Windswept and Portland and warning that endless annexations without closing enclaves could draw state scrutiny under the 2023 enclave law.
Developer representative Cliff Mower said the scale sounds larger than it is: county land-use determinations show almost all of the 1,000 acres is Estate Residential at one unit per five acres, with only one rural village piece at two per acre, allowing at most about 233 units on the bulk and roughly 655 total — not thousands — and that future development would then meet city rather than Walton County standards. The council did not set a timeline for a first reading, and staff will return with any right-of-way and utility agreements alongside the annexation ordinance.
The meeting also included a standard authorization for Mayor Russ Barley to sign a State Revolving Fund resolution for utility funding, routine consent items, and a report on the first Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance Estuary Program steering committee meeting held October 22, with a watershed survey and online project hub planned and the next meeting set for January 27.
Originally reported by the City of Freeport via YouTube. Meeting video: City of Freeport via YouTube.
Image: City of Freeport via YouTube.
