The words “without consent” have played a major role in the discourse of the last few Princeton Home Rule Charter Commissions.

Commissioners debated the city’s annexation and disannexation subsection to Chapter 1 of its draft charter during the Wednesday, March 2 regular meeting. 

Several members of the body voiced concerns about the provision’s usage of “without consent” because they felt residents would not support a charter containing those two words.

“I’m worried that the population is going to read this as a land grab act,” Commissioner John Regan said. “We know the law has changed, but the general population is not going to know that the laws have changed on that, so let’s just remove that wording altogether.” 

City Attorney David Overcash said removing any more than “without consent” could create problems for the city in the long run.

“If you deleted that sentence, Princeton would probably be the only home rule city that had stripped away two powers that state law says it should be able to exercise,” Overcash said. “It can be deleted, but it will change what Princeton is compared to other cities and make it a less-than city.”

Annexation is the process by which cities are able to incorporate more land and grow, said Overcash. He added the presence of consent did not mean unanimous consent of landowners was necessary.

Additionally, Overcash and City Manager Derek Borg said annexation into the city is a voluntary process and must be initiated by a property owner or owners.

“The developers go out and purchase the properties,” Borg said. “Then, they come to the city for utilities and all the services the city provides.”

Commissioner Nikki Krum said McKinney had removed “without consent” from its home rule charter, but kept provisions that still allowed it to use its full annexation powers.

Overcash said Princeton has never had to annex property without the consent of a property owner and that he would return to the next meeting with draft language omitting “without consent.”

For the full story, see the March 10 issue of the Princeton Herald.