EAST SPENCER — The annexation of a parcel of land on Pine Tree Drive was approved by the Board of Aldermen Tuesday night though development of the property is still not a given.

The owner of the property had asked the town to approve a conditional annexation, saying that if the sale of the property to the developer did not go through, she did not want the property annexed. But the town attorney advised there is no conditional annexation.

Based on that advice, board member Dr. George Jackson moved that the council approve the annexation “without conditions.”

Should the developer, who has not been named yet, complete the purchase of the property, the town will then provide connection of water and sewer to the property. There are two pieces of the parcel, and the first would include 124 townhouses that could bring an estimated $293,000 in taxes to the town’s coffers. The second parcel would include 40 single homes and bring in an additional $94,000 in taxes.

“There are not a lot of single family houses in the area, so townhomes make sense,” said Michael Douglas, town manager about the first parcel.

“Do you have an estimated completion date once the project is started?” asked Dr. Pamela Jackson, a resident who attended the meeting and is married to Aldmerman Jackson. Douglas said he understood it would take “about two years.” Asked if the projects would be done simultaneously, Douglas said “that would be up to the developer.”

The annexation request was approved, as moved, without conditions.

A special use permit was also approved for both parcels, as well as for a third, small lot on Geroid Street. That parcel will house five townhouses, but Douglas expressed some concern about the aesthetics given that the townhouses will be in the middle of a single family home neighborhood.

“It doesn’t blend in,” said Mayor Pro Tem Curtis Cowan. “I voted against this last time it came before us.”

Douglas said the property has already been rezoned to allow townhouses, so only the special use permit was required.

Several members of the board recalled that the property housed an apartment building at one time, and in the end, the board approved the special use permit.

Finally, the board approved a request from Garden Street Communities to reduce the setback requirements for the McCanless Village houses in order to build slightly larger homes with two car garages. The development will include 62 homes and the setbacks will reduce from the existing 30′ x 25′ x 12′ to 25′ x 20′ x 10′.