The city of Columbus now has more property available for industrial use.

The Columbus City Council gave final approval Tuesday evening for a plan that annexed and rezoned nearly 72 acres of property on Deaver Road next to the Woodside Northwest Industrial Park. The project, put forward by Steve Booher, saw the land annexation change from agricultural use to industrial. Annexation also allows the property to tap into city services such as water and sewer

Prior to the vote, Mayor Jim Lienhoop said that Columbus was in desperate need of shovel-ready industrial property. The mayor said there are several industrial parcels available around town, but they are all in the 10-acre range. Lienhoop noted that, while these smaller parcels are fine for some businesses, other, larger developments need 50 acres or more. While there is no known customer for the property currently, city officials believe that it is only a matter of time before the newly-annexed property is utilized.

The annexation and rezoning was approved on a unanimous vote of 4-0.