GENOLA — Voters in Genola will vote on a controversial annexation proposal that, if accepted, will nearly double the city's population.

And, although ballot votes are not traditionally binding, the council intends to stand behind the citizens' decision.

"It's not the common way to make such a big decision, obviously, but we thought it was the fairest way to do it," said Mayor Eric Hazelet. "This way all the people in town get to state their opinion."

The issue will be put up for vote during the general election in November.

After Mountain Shores Development approached the city with the 700-acre annexation proposal, the City Council was overwhelmed with public comment, Hazelet said. A group of residents who opposed the annexation, which would add a 243-house subdivision to the 350-home city, put together a petition of more than 300 signatures.

Mountain Shores Development offered, however, to dig a well for Genola and pay for new roads and water lines. The $6 million developers offered the city looked enticing to City Council members, who Hazelet said "are always worried about infrastructure."

When residents started talking about forcing a referendum if the annexation deal passed, Hazelet said the city "got to thinking."

"We felt it was such an important issue we didn't want to say we are not going to do it," he said. "We thought putting it on the ballot might be a little quicker than dealing with a referendum — not that we minded the referendum."

Hazelet said the recent decision to put the issue to vote had nothing to do with the fact that two of Genola's four City Council members declared conflicts of interest.

Councilman Brian Draper owns about 120 acres of land that sits between the proposed subdivision and Genola. If the deal went through, the city would also annex his land. Councilman Mike Vail works at an engineering firm under one of the landowners involved in the annexation petition.

Sandra Greenwood, who spearheaded citizens' efforts to shut down the annexation deal, said residents had two main frustrations: They didn't think the council was receptive to public comment, and only two council members remained "unbiased." Giving the vote to residents puts all these concerns to rest.

"It is wonderful that the mayor is listening to the citizens of Genola because it impacts and affects each one of them personally," Greenwood said. "When you live in a community this small, something of that magnitude will change your whole future."

Greenwood said residents were concerned Genola, which lacks a commercial tax base, would not be able to support the rapid spike in growth.

"We're not mature enough as a city," she said. "We don't have a city engineer, we don't have a city planner — it would become urban sprawl."