09 LC 35
1392S
The
House Committee on Intragovernmental Coordination offers the following
substitute
to HB 558:
A
BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
AN ACT
To
amend Chapter 36 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to annexation of territory, so as to provide for deannexation by application of
landowners and residents who were previously subject to annexation into a
municipal corporation more than two years and less than five years prior to
filing the application for deannexation; to provide for procedures, conditions,
and limitations; to provide for facilities and services; to provide for bonded
indebtedness in the event of a deannexation of property from a municipality; to
provide for the assessment and collection of taxes; to provide for notice; to
provide for public hearing and review and a recommendation; to provide for
related matters; to provide an effective date; to repeal conflicting laws; and
for other purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Chapter
36 of Title 36 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to annexation
of territory, is amended by inserting new Code sections to read as
follows:
"36-36-22.1.
(a)
In addition to other methods of deannexation provided for by law, where lands
have been annexed into a municipal corporation not less than two calander years
nor more than five calander years from the date such annexation was final, the
county governing authority shall have authority to deannex such lands by filing
an application within such time period as provided in this Code Section using
one of the following methods:
(1)
Upon the written and signed application of all of the owners of all of the lands
previously annexed and who are now requesting to be deannexed, except the owners
of any public street, road, highway, or right of way; or
(2)
Upon the written and signed application of not less than 60 percent of the
electors residing in the previously annexed area included in any such
application and of the owners of not less than 60 percent of the previously
annexed land area, by acreage, included in such application.
The
procedures and limitations of this Code section shall apply to all deannexations
pursuant to this Code section but shall not apply to deannexations by local Acts
of the General Assembly or deannexations otherwise provided by law. No lands
that have been annexed for five years or more shall be eligible for deannexation
pursuant to this Code section.
(b)
Applications for deannexation shall contain a complete description of the lands
to be deannexed. In addition, a copy of a resolution by the governing authority
of the county in which such property is located consenting to such deannexation
shall also be included in the application.
(c)
Deannexation pursuant to this Code section shall not result in the creation of
an unincorporated island prohibited by Code Section 36-36-4 nor shall any
deannexation result in a separation of the existing municipality such that a
separate incorporated island is created. Deannexation shall only be permitted
for contiguous areas as such term is defined in Code Section 36-36-20. Lands to
be deannexed at any one time shall be treated as one body, regardless of the
number of owners, and all parts shall be considered as adjoining the limits of
the municipal corporation when any one part of the entire body abuts such
limits. No deannexation may occur under this Code section which would result in
the division of an existing designated subdivision without the consent of the
municipal governing authority. For purposes of this subsection, 'subdivision'
shall have the same meaning as provided in Code Section 44-3-2.
(d)
Property that is included within the municipal boundaries of a newly
incorporated municipality shall not be eligible for deannexation pursuant to
this Code section.
(e)
Where deannexation is conducted in accordance with paragraph (2) of subsection
(a) of this Code section, the following additional procedures shall
apply:
(1)
Each person signing an application for deannexation shall also print or type
thereon his or her name, address, and the date of signature. In addition, such
person shall indicate whether he or she is a landowner within the area to be
deannexed, an elector, or both;
(2)
For the purpose of determining the percentage of electors signing such
application, the county governing authority shall obtain a list of electors
residing in such area from the board of registrars of the municipal corporation,
county, or counties in which the area lies. The list shall be compiled by the
board of registrars and provided to the county governing authority in accordance
with Code Section 21-2-227. The county governing authority shall bear the
expense of the preparation of the list in the manner prescribed by such Code
section;
(3)
For the purpose of determining ownership of the property included within such
application, the record titleholder of the fee simple title or his or her legal
representative shall be considered the owner of the property. Signatures of
owners of public roads and other public land within the area to be deannexed
shall not be required to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (2) of subsection
(a) of this Code section, and the acreage of such public properties shall be
excluded from acreage calculations pertaining to the landowner
approval;
(4)
The necessary number of signatures of landowners and electors shall be obtained
within one calendar year following the date of the first signature obtained.
Failure to collect the required number within the one-year period shall
invalidate previously collected signatures. Nothing in this paragraph shall
prohibit collection of signatures from the same persons on subsequent
applications for deannexation. If it is determined that the application does
comply with this paragraph, the county governing authority shall proceed to act
on the application;
(5)
A county exercising authority under paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this Code
section shall make plans for the extension of services to the area proposed to
be deannexed and, prior to the public hearing provided for in this subsection,
shall prepare a report setting forth its plans to provide services to the area.
The report shall be made available to the public at least 14 days prior to the
public hearing required by this subsection. The report required by this
paragraph shall include:
(A)
A map or maps of the county and adjacent territory, showing the present and
proposed boundaries of the county, the present major trunk water mains and sewer
interceptors and outfalls, and the proposed extensions of such mains and
outfalls, if any; and
(B)
A statement setting forth the plans of the county for extending to the area to
be deannexed each major county service performed within the county at the time
of deannexation.
The
plans required by this paragraph shall, on the date of deannexation, provide for
extending police protection, fire protection, garbage collection, and street
maintenance services to the area to be deannexed on substantially the same basis
and in the same manner as such services are provided within the rest of the
county prior to deannexation to the extent such services are provided by the
county; but, if a water distribution system is not available in the area to be
deannexed, the plans shall call for reasonably effective fire protection
services until such time as water lines are made available in the area under
existing county policies for the extension of water lines; and
(6)
The county governing body shall hold a public hearing on any application which
has been determined to meet the requirements of this subsection. The hearing
shall be held not less than 15 nor more than 45 days from the time the governing
body makes a determination that the petition is valid. Notice of the time and
place of the hearing shall be given in writing to the persons presenting the
application and shall be advertised once a week for two consecutive weeks
immediately preceding the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation in the
county and in the area proposed for deannexation. At the public hearing all
persons residing or owning property in the county or in the area proposed for
deannexation may be heard on the question of the deannexation of the area by the
county. Any property owner or elector may withdraw his or her consent in
writing postmarked or received by the county within three business days after
the public hearing required by this paragraph. If, after the public hearing,
the governing body determines that the deannexation to the county of the area
proposed in the application would be in the best interest of the residents and
property owners of the area proposed for deannexation and of the citizens of the
county, the area may be deannexed to the county by the adoption of a deannexing
resolution. The deannexing resolution shall be adopted within 60 days following
validation of the signatures of the applicants.
(f)
Upon receipt of an application of deannexation where deannexation is sought
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection (a) of this Code section, or adoption of
a deannexation resolution where deannexation is sought pursuant to paragraph (2)
of subsection (a) of this Code section, a county shall notify the municipal
corporation in which the territory to be deannexed is located by certified mail
or by statutory overnight delivery. At the time such notice is made, the
application for deannexation shall be considered filed for purposes of the time
limitations set forth in subsection (a) of this Code section. Such notice shall
include a copy of the deannexation petition and the proposed zoning and land use
for such area. When a complete application is submitted to the municipal
corporation, the land shall be deannexed from the municipal corporation
effective for ad valorem tax purposes on December 31 of the year during which
such application is submitted and for all other purposes on the first day of the
next calendar quarter which begins at least one month after the month during
which the requirements of this article have been met. Unless otherwise agreed
to in writing by a county governing authority and the municipal governing
authority, where property zoned and used for commercial purposes is deannexed
from a municipality with an independent school system, the effective date for
the purposes of ad valorem taxes levied for educational purposes shall be
December 31 of the year after the year in which the requirements of this article
have been met.
(g)
An identification of the property so deannexed shall be filed with the
Department of Community Affairs and with the governing authority of the
municipal corporation. When deannexed pursuant to this Code section, such lands
shall cease to constitute a part of the lands within the corporate limits of the
municipal corporation as completely and fully as if the limits had been marked
and defined by local Act of the General Assembly.
(h)
Nothing within this Code section shall prohibit the county from requiring the
residents of the newly deannexed area to use utilities owned by the county when
they are available.
(i)
The governing authority of the county shall not change the zoning or land use
plan of the deannexed property to a more intense density for one year after the
effective date of the deannexation unless such change is made in a service
delivery agreement or comprehensive plan and is adopted by the affected city and
county.
(j)
Property that has been deannexed from a municipal corporation pursuant to the
provisions of this Code section shall not be annexed again until at least two
calendar years after the date the deannexation of said property became effective
unless annexation is conducted by local Act of the General Assembly or by mutual
agreement of the municipal and county governing authorities.
36-36-22.2.
Whenever
land is deannexed from a municipal corporation pursuant to Code Section
36-36-22.1, any bonded indebtedness of the municipality which is outstanding as
of the effective date of the deannexation shall become the debt and obligation
of a special tax district. The special tax district shall correspond to and be
conterminous with the corporate limits of the municipality as of the effective
date of the deannexation. The county shall provide for the assessment and
collection of taxes within the special tax district in the same manner and to
the same extent that such taxes were previously imposed by the municipality in
accordance with the terms of the obligations of any bonded indebtedness of the
municipality which is outstanding on the effective date of the
deannexation."
SECTION
2.
This
Act shall become effective upon its approval by the Governor or upon its
becoming law without such approval.
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.