Giardini Trattoria, a restaurant between Columbus and Mill Spring, has requested to be voluntarily annexed into Columbus.
Columbus Town Council May 17 agreed to have the town clerk investigate the sufficiency of the petition. Columbus Town Manager Jonathan Kanipe said the town will not hold a public hearing on the issue until July.
This is the second annexation request restaurant owners Joe and Mary Laudisio have made in the past two years. The town denied the request last January.
At that time, council members said Columbus residents have said over the past couple of years they do not want to grow. Specifically, councilman Michael Gage said he was against adding properties to town limits because he hears from residents that if the town can’t take care of what it already has, it shouldn’t increase its size.
The Laudisios said last year they want to be a part of Columbus to obtain town services such as police protection. The restaurant did not request water and sewer services last year. If the restaurant’s request were granted, it would involve a satellite annexation – annexation of a property not contiguous with current town limits. With satellite annexations, the town is not required to extend water and sewer services.
Giardini’s is located 1.6 miles from the town limits and 0.9 miles from the service station across from Polk County High School, which is in town limits as a result of a satellite annexation.
Giardini’s, whose address is 2411 N.C. 108E, is an Italian restaurant and gardens. The restaurant currently offers brown bagging for beer and wine services, but if it were annexed into Columbus, the restaurant could apply for a state alcohol license.