Just two hours before Gretna’s city council special reading Wednesday evening regarding the annexation plan by the city of Gretna, the city got hit by a lawsuit.
The Sarpy County Attorney’s office, who filed the lawsuit, says the city’s annexation plan is illegal because it includes land that does not qualify to be annexed.
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The lawsuit, which speaks of defending agricultural land, states that the proposed annexation package includes farmland which is rural in character — meaning it has no connection to main sewer lines and has unpaved roads, which breaks state law regarding annexations.
Gretna City Attorney, Jeff Miller, who was surprised the lawsuit came so early in the process, argues the land proposed is in urban-suburban character.
“You have a lot of the land in these areas are selling for development purpose and development prices. We’ve got Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, the Nebraska Outlet Mall, Wal-Mart,” Miller said. “All those are urban-suburban facilities, services, and developments that help support the contention of the city that is urban-suburban in character.”
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City Council members voted to put the proposal on hold in the meantime, which cancelled Thursday’s scheduled hearing and vote.
A Sarpy County District Court hearing is scheduled for Oct. 31.
