Selma -- Homeowners frazzled by a proposed extension of Selma's planning jurisdiction breathed a sigh of relief on Tuesday when the Town Council voted to indefinitely delay a decision on the issue.

Among those relieved by the decision were Robert Wiggs of Starline Road and close friend Carl Capps of Capps Road. Both men live within the boundaries of the proposed extension, which made dozens of homeowners complain at a Town Council meeting in May.

Neither Wiggs nor Capps addressed the Town Council on Tuesday about the proposed extension of Selma’s ETJ. But before the meeting, Wiggs, a farmer by trade, said he saw little value in coming under Selma’s wing.

“I just don’t see how it’s going to do anybody any good,” he said.

Critics of the plan have said they think extending Selma's planning authority will lead to annexation. Capps, 61, said he sees a proposed extension as the first step toward destroying the livelihoods of local farmers, many of whom have preserved their lands through generations.

“We like being in the country,” Capps said. “We’re farmers, and we’ve been farmers all our lives. We don’t want to be zoned into the Town of Selma because we’re afraid they’ll start imposing all kinds of restrictions on us. And we don’t want people moving into the area and building on top of agriculture.”

Interim Town Manager C.L. Gobble said town leaders learned a hard lesson from the controversy over the proposed extension of Selma’s ETJ. Some who attended a Town Council meeting in May criticized the council for failing to properly notify homeowners who would have been affected by the changes. Others accused the town of being reckless in the way it mapped out the affected areas on the outskirts of town.

“We all got an earful,” Gobble said on Tuesday. “I think we also realized that we probably need to do a better job of educating the public during the process.”

Gobble suggested that the council table further discussion on the issue until the town could hire a planning staff and craft and land-use plan. The town has included money in its budget for the 2008-09 fiscal year to hire a planning director. Selma has lacked planners since 2006, when a financial crisis resulted in numerous layoffs.