GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF NORTH CAROLINA

SESSION 2009

H                                                                                                                                                    1

HOUSE BILL 635

Short Title:        Annexation/Restrict Use of Land Bridges.		(Public)
Sponsors:	Representatives Brown;  Blackwood, Blust, Cleveland, Dollar, Goforth, Neumann, Stam, and Starnes.
Referred to:	Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House, if favorable, Judiciary II, if favorable, Finance.

March 18, 2009

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT to limit the use of narrow land bridges in involuntary annexations.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 160A‑36(b) reads as rewritten:

"(b)      The total area to be annexed must meet the following standards:

(1)        It must be adjacent or contiguous to the municipality's boundaries at the time the annexation proceeding is begun, except if the entire territory of a county water and sewer district created under G.S. 162A‑86(b1) is being annexed, the annexation shall also include any noncontiguous pieces of the district as long as the part of the district with the greatest land area is adjacent or contiguous to the municipality's boundaries at the time the annexation proceeding is begun.

(2)        At least one eighth of the aggregate external boundaries of the area must coincide with the municipal boundary. A land bridge consisting solely of vacant land, a street or highway corridor, a lake, a stream bed, or any area not occupied by a business or residence shall not be used to establish contiguity to an outlying, noncontiguous area.

(3)        No part of the area shall be included within the boundary of another incorporated municipality."

SECTION 2.  G.S. 160A‑48(b) reads as rewritten:

"(b)      The total area to be annexed must meet the following standards:

(1)        It must be adjacent or contiguous to the municipality's boundaries at the time the annexation proceeding is begun, except if the entire territory of a county water and sewer district created under G.S. 162A‑86(b1) is being annexed, the annexation shall also include any noncontiguous pieces of the district as long as the part of the district with the greatest land area is adjacent or contiguous to the municipality's boundaries at the time the annexation proceeding is begun.

(2)        At least one eighth of the aggregate external boundaries of the area must coincide with the municipal boundary. A land bridge consisting solely of vacant land, a street or highway corridor, a lake, a stream bed, or any area not occupied by a business or residence shall not be used to establish contiguity to an outlying, noncontiguous area.

(3)        No part of the area shall be included within the boundary of another incorporated municipality."

SECTION 3.  This act becomes effective October 1, 2009.