Incorporation & Annexation

• Incorporation: establishment of city as legal entity– Reasons: provide town services (streets, law

enforcement, water/sewer, waste); exercise regulatory powers; (defensive reasons may mean to block annexation)

• Annexation: Expansion of geographic boundaries– Reasons: planning authority, tax base,

services

Criteria: Judicial or Legislative?Legislative• Threshold: political?

Standards?• Incorporation:

– “right & proper”– Locality in which body of

people reside in more or less proximity having common interests

• Annexation: – contiguity? urban services?– Review by agency?– City/county role?

Judicial:• Threshold: basis?

justiciability?• Incorporation:

– “urban territory”?– “properly subject to village

government”? “community” (socio-economic or physical?)

– Best interests of [broad] community”

• Annexation:– “rule of reason”? (statute?

State constitution?)– Meaning? (urban purpose?

need?)– Procedures?– Facts?

Voluntary Annexation: NC StatutesVoluntary: by Petition (160A-31)• Signed by owners of all real

property • Land contiguous (at time of

petition): abuts directly on municipal boundary or separated by street, creek, etc.

• Effective date immediate or in six months

• Subject to debts, ordinances, regulations

• Entitled to privileges and benefits• Taxes

Voluntary: Satellite (160A-58+)• Petition signed by all owners of

real property (non-exempt)• Land not contiguous but

– Not more than 3 miles from city at nearest point

– No point nearer to another city unless annexation agreement

– Must be able to provide same services as within primary

– If subdivision, all of it– Area, when added to all other

satellite corporate limits not to exceed 10% of primary area

• Findings: public health, safety and welfare of inhabitants of city and of the area proposed for annexation will be best served by annexation

Involuntary Annexation: NC Statutes (160A-45)Character of area (160A-48)• Total area (1) must be adjacent or contiguous at time; (2) 1/8 of

aggregate boundaries must coincide with municipal boundary; (3) no part within another municipality AND

• Part/ all must be developed for urban purposes– [high density] Resident population = 2.3 persons /acre OR– [density + subdivision]: total population at least 1 person/acre AND subdivided

into lots/tracts (at least 60% ACREAGE in lots 3 acres or less in size and 65% of NUMBER OF LOTS 1 acre or less in size)

– [developed use + subdivision]: 60% or more of NUMBER OF LOTS/TRACTS used for residential, commercial, industrial, institutional or governmental purposes* AND 60% or more of ACREAGE NOT IN commercial, industrial, governmental, institutional is in lots/tracks 3 acres or less in size (*actual not temporary or incidental or insubstantial use, but actually occupied)

– [water and sewer district]: entire area of water and sewer district if contract– [developed use/non-residential]: ALL TRACTS are used for commercial,

industrial, governmental

NC: Involuntary Annexation (continued)

• [“Land bridge”]: Additional area may also be included if– Lies between municipal boundary and area developed for urban

purposes so that the area developed for urban purposes is either not adjacent to municipal boundary or cannot be served without extending services and/or water and/or sewer lines through such sparsely developed area OR

– Is adjacent, on at least 60% of its external boundary, to any combination of the municipal boundary of an area or areas developed for urban purposes

– The purpose of this subsection is to permit municipality to extend corporate limits to include all nearby areas developed for urban purposes and where necessary to include areas which at time are not yet developed for urban purposes but which constitute necessary land connections… For purposes of section, “necessary land connection” means an area that does not exceed 25% of the total area to be annexed

Involuntary Annexation: Procedures & Remedies

• Purposes stated• Substantive requirements: map, plan of service delivery• Procedural requirements:

– Notice of intent– Informational Meeting– Public Hearing– Ordinance requirements: findings, services– Tax protections: property subject to “present-use value appraisal”

• Appeals: (160A-50)– Within 60 days following passage any person owning property who shall

believe that he will suffer material injury by reason of failure of muni board to comply with procedure

– Judicial review: statutory procedure not followed; prerequisites or urban purposes standards note met

– Remedies: remand or declare void• Remedies for failure to provide services (160A-49(h)