South Cordova may soon leave the City of Memphis

South Cordova residents said it feels like they’re nearing the finish line as the third and final reading of an ordinance that will de-annex the area goes before the Memphis City Council on Feb. 19.

In a public meeting with area residents, Doug Mcgowen, chief operating officer for the City of Memphis, compared the annexation of the area to a “bad marriage” that is nearing divorce.

“It’s clear what you’d like to do,” Mcgowen told a packed room. “I’m encouraged by what I see here and the dialogue I’ve had working on it in the past few years. We’re very near the finish line.”

If approved, the de-annexation process will start in January 2020 and complete by January 2021. There is a 75-day period after the vote in which residents could halt the process by filing an objection, but that’s not expected from an area that opposed its original annexation by the city.

‘We fought it for years and years

See ANNEXATION, Page 2