KANNAPOLIS — As Kannapolis continues to expand, it faces challenges with so many other neighboring communities in close proximity to it.

At the Feb. 26 Kannapolis City Council meeting, Director of Communications Annette Privette Keller and Planning Director Richard Smith called for the city to approve alternate city line addressing for both residents and businesses.

“What that allows for is existing businesses and residents can use the current city they were under, whether it was Concord or Davidson, now they have the option they would put the Kannapolis name on there,” Smith said.

Kannapolis has eight zip codes where people and businesses have an address line of six municipalities. One-third of the city’s property, 50 percent of “total development of the city that’s already taken place,” 48 percent of the population, and 80 percent of the city’s business growth are all in a non-Kannapolis zip code.

“If we keep growing at the rate we’re growing, in the next couple years, the majority of the city’s population will be in a non-Kannapolis zip code,” Keller said.

Smith said this has led to uncertainty for residents on where they actually live.

“There is confusion a lot of times when new residents move into the city, they, a lot of times, don’t find out they’re in the city of Kannapolis until after they move in and they see a trash can that has a Kannapolis name on it,” Smith said.

Eighty-one percent of the city’s largest businesses that include Amazon, Stewart-Haas Racing, and Shoe Show, are located in a non-Kannapolis zip code. “Developing growth areas” like Kannapolis Crossing and Northwest Middle and High schools are also in non-Kannapolis zip codes.

Some businesses are even unsure which municipality to contact when it comes to “planning and zoning a new building or expansion, infrastructure needs, and public safety needs.”

Congress has already passed nationwide legislation letting “multiple cities to use the same zip code designation for the entire municipal jurisdiction.” Kannapolis zip codes will not change and the United States Post Office will still be delivering mail to all zip codes “regardless of what city is in the address.”

City Manager Mike Legg reiterated when it comes to existing properties, this change is completely optional.

“Nobody has to do anything. All the post office cares about is the zip code. That’s what the legislation essentially says,” Legg said. “The address used is an individual decision. We’re going to encourage businesses to do it because there’s economic value and less confusion.”

However, going forward, new residential and business addresses will have the Kannapolis city name in their address if they are in the Kannapolis zip code. Mapping platforms like Google and GPS will have Kannapolis and the current city it belongs to on the address line. An example of this would be Kannapolis-Concord.

At the end of the presentation, the council decided to recognize alternate city line addressing.

The city will soon be notifying businesses “in the historically non-Kannapolis zip code areas” of the resolution and work with Cabarrus and Rowan Counties to modify all mapping systems.