What services must be provided to annexed areas? State law allows cities to annex property by petition (voluntary) and city-initiated (involuntary), which now requires approval by a majority of voters in the area to be annexed. Once property is annexed, state law provides that “the territory and its citizens and property shall be subject to […]
Posts Tagged ‘Annexation’
Providing Utility Services Outside Territorial Boundaries: Recent Developments
Friday, June 10th, 2016Municipalities and counties are authorized, but not required, to provide utility services to properties that lie beyond their territorial borders. See G.S. 160A-312; G.S. 153A-275; see also City of Randleman v. Hinshaw, 2 N.C. App. 381 (1968) (“A [local government] which operates its own water and sewer system is under no duty to furnish water […]
Annexation Agreements for Economic Development – Not an Option
Wednesday, September 9th, 2015The City of Promiseland has been in discussions with a developer about a property just outside the city that is perfect for a small business center. The city is willing to extend water and sewer services to the property, and according to the city’s policy, will require the developer to petition for annexation. The property […]
Voluntary Annexation: An Overview
Wednesday, October 9th, 2013“Annexation” is the incorporation of new territory into an existing city. North Carolina allows three methods of annexation: 1) city-initiated (“involuntary”), 2) by petition from property-owners or residents (“voluntary”), and 3) by act of the General Assembly (“legislative”). The General Assembly recently made significant changes in the involuntary annexation statutes, which are summarized in my […]
Deannexation
Wednesday, January 9th, 2013UPDATE August 2013: A new statute, G.S. 105-380, requires a municipality to release property tax liability for any deannexed property that was within the town limits for six months or less before being deannexed, if no notice has been sent to the taxpayer. This provision became effective July 1, 2013 and expires July 1, 2016 […]
Annexation Reform: Referendum Replaces Petition to Deny
Thursday, June 28th, 2012In 2011, the legislature substantially revised the annexation laws. Among other changes, the 2011 annexation reform law, summarized here, gave property owners in the annexed area the ability to petition to deny the annexation. These changes applied to annexations in process on or initiated after the effective date of the law. In addition, by separate […]
Look, up in the sky! It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s . . .
Friday, January 20th, 2012Harry Potter and those Twilight vampires need to move over and make room for a new literary superhero. The mighty local government tax collector returns to the best seller lists this week after a fourteen-year absence with the release of my new book, Fundamentals of Property Tax Collection Law in North Carolina. That’s right, I […]
Annexing Streets – Interpreting S.L. 2011-57, and Dealing With Half a Street
Wednesday, September 21st, 2011The recent annexation reform legislation summarized in this blog post, changed the involuntary annexation laws, but left the basic structure for voluntary annexation in place. The legislature, did, however, modify the petition signature requirements by enacting S.L. 2011-57 (HB 171), apparently to address a concern about cities annexing streets they don’t own. The act itself is […]
Annexation Reform: A Summary of the New Law
Friday, July 15th, 2011UPDATE August 2013: In 2012, the legislature replaced the petition process described below with a referendum requirement. The current law is summarized here. Nearly 40 annexation-related bills were introduced during this legislative session. Included in this number were identical House and Senate bills that would have imposed a one-year moratorium on involuntary annexation, as well […]
Property Tax Implications of the New Annexation Law
Thursday, July 14th, 2011Municipal annexations have been the subject of much debate recently. My colleague Frayda Bluestein expertly analyzes S.L. 2011-396 (H.B. 845) the one bill that became law among dozens on the topic introduced during the current legislative session here. My post today focuses on the two major property tax implications of this new law. First, the law eliminates a major source of tax confusion by requiring that involuntary annexations take […]
Zoning and Satellite Annexations
Thursday, February 17th, 2011One of these days the developer of a proposed new energy-efficient open-space development (Greenfields) will come calling on the city. It will propose that the city satellite annex the Greenfields property, located almost a mile outside of town. Greenfields will need city water and sewer and will be prepared to pay for its extension. City […]