The city of Huntsville has now expanded into a third county.

The Huntsville city council on Thursday night unanimously approved the annexation of more than 600 acres across the Tennessee River in Morgan County in the Lacey's Spring community.

Huntsville, founded in Madison County, has now annexed land in Limestone County to the west and Morgan County to the south.

The move has been more than a decade in coming as city leaders, under then-Mayor Loretta Spencer, first looked at expanding into eastern Morgan County in 2006. The council OK'd the annexation of 659.1 acres along the Tennessee River east of U.S. 231.

The annexed land is essentially two large tracts connected by a narrow strip of land off Old River Road and crossing River Loop Road.

The petitioners seeking the annexation were John Wisda of Wiz Kidz LLC and Derek Roberts of Rogers Group Inc. Wisda owns the majority of the land while the Rogers Group agreed to the annexation of the narrow strip to connect Wisda's properties.

Wisda also petitioned the city council to annex land he owns directly across the river from Ditto Landing in 2015.

Mayor Tommy Battle said the annexed land, with its proximity across the river from Ditto Landing, could create recreational opportunities for the city. Huntsville leaders for years have struggled with ideas on how best to utilize its waterfront at Ditto Landing.

Wisda said that the northern portion of the annexed property has about one mile of frontage on the river. Wisda is also in the final stages of building an 8,600 square foot events center on the annexed property near Whitesburg Bridge.

That facility could also be used in conjunction with events at the recreational park area, Wisda said. He said he envisions the building being used for weddings, proms, reunions and other activities.

Councilwoman Jennie Robinson, who said she visited the annexed land last week, said the property is essentially divided into two parts. The northern part of the land, nearest to the Whitesburg Bridge, would be a recreational area to complement Ditto Landing.

The recreational area includes a 60-acre lake.

"It can be a great complement great asset to Ditto," Robinson said. "We can create a really nice gateway on south entrance into town."

The southern portion of the property will be developed with 35 estate lots -- about 10 to 12 acres per lot -- for large homes, Wisda said.

Six residents of Lacey's Spring addressed the council during the meeting, all expressing their opposition to the project. Those who spoke said they were concerned about the disruption of their quiet lifestyle in rural Morgan County as well as paying taxes to Huntsville.

City officials said that there will be no change in how taxes are paid except for those who are annexed into Huntsville.

Mayor Tommy Battle said this project has been under view by his administration for about four years and it moved in a deliberate manner to make sure the city would be "good neighbors" as it jumped the river.

"We held this one for as long as we did to make sure we did it right and we would be good neighbors, the kind of neighbors you want in there," Battle said.

The mayor also made the point of saying the city only annexes land if it is requested by the land owner. Without that request, Battle said, there would be no annexation.

The city will not be providing infrastructure to the newly-annexed land, officials said. The area will maintain its current utility providers. Huntsville police and fire, however, will have jurisdiction in the newly-annexed land.

This story was updated today, February 22, 2018, at 9:54 p.m. with new information throughout.