Madison votes to annex land that includes Costco in Clift Farm
MADISON – The Madison city council approved an agreement last night to annex land in Clift Farm that includes Costco Wholesale into the city of Madison.
“Annexation of the Property pursuant to the Agreement will promote the economic development of the City,” reads the agreement.
“The annexation agreement provides for the city to receive revenues that it does not currently receive,” said Madison Director of Development Services Mary Beth Broeren at the meeting.
The Costco opened in Nov. of 2024 as the second Costco in the Huntsville metro area.
The city will receive gas tax, liquor tax, property tax, and .5% of the sales tax generated there, and the Madison City school district will receive its portion of the property taxes.
In the agreement with the developer, Clift Home Place, LLC and Breland Companies, the City of Madison will share 3% of taxable sales with Clift Home Place, LLC for 40 years.
District 4 city councilman Michael McKay objected to the sharing of taxes, “I object to assigning 3% of the taxable sales to the property’s developer for 40 years, leaving the city only one-half percent. As far as I understand, that’s unprecedented in recent history. Businesses already in city limits weren’t offered these terms. I’m concerned this agreement would disadvantage us when negotiating future opportunities. As such, I don’t support the agreement.”
Mayor Ranae Bartlett responded, “From the mayor’s seat, I don’t think that you’re comparing apples to apples because it does not impact or impede our ability to negotiate development agreements with other types of businesses. They’re not Costco. Costco is a very unique piece of retail property. Currently, we get zero. We have Madison residents who go across the street and shop in Clift Farms, and we get zero.”
The agreement brings an end to the 2% development fee imposed by the developer at Costco.
The annexation takes effect on Feb. 18. A public hearing is slated for the Feb. 9 Madison City Council at city hall, 100 Hughes Drive.
