The Douglas County Commission has approved a request from Rural Water District No. 5 to annex about 77 acres in the future growth area of the city of Lawrence.

The area being annexed is in the 1400 block of North 1100 Road, about 2 miles south of Lawrence.

Speaking at a public hearing before the approval at the county commission’s meeting Wednesday, Brandon McGuire, assistant to Lawrence City Manager Tom Markus, restated the position Markus expressed in a letter to commissioners on the annexation — namely, that the city didn’t oppose the annexation but wanted Water District No. 5 to start talks with the city about transitioning the area to the city’s water service if and when the city grows into that area.

In his letter, Markus wrote that the goal of such an arrangement was to avoid a future dispute like the one that developed in south Eudora. The city of Eudora and Rural Water District No. 4 have engaged in more than a decade of litigation in a conflict involving the right to serve the southern part of that city and adjoining growth area.

McGuire told commissioners the water district had agreed to discussions about an agreement that provides for an orderly transition to city water service as Lawrence grows into the area.