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Monday, February 19, 2007

Ind. Law- More on: Senate is urged to change annexation law

"Freeze sought on annexations: State senator files 2 measures to support homeowners unwilling to be taken over" is the headline to a story today by Bill Ruthhart in the Indianapolis Star. Some quotes:

State legislators soon may be asked to freeze the power of cities and towns to expand their boundaries without the permission of landowners.

Such a moratorium would bar municipalities from pressing ahead with involuntary annexations of unwilling landowners.

Property owners in Hamilton County, a fast-growing area and the battleground for three high-profile annexation fights, are among those hoping that legislators will provide them with some relief.

Sen. Beverly Gard, R-Greenfield, has filed two bills on behalf of annexation opponents, though she has acknowledged that neither goes far enough to solve the problem. Looking ahead, she'd like to form an interim legislative study committee after this year's session ends to work on an overhaul of Indiana's annexation law.

A freeze on involuntary annexations would remain in effect while all sides hammer out a big-picture solution. * * *

In Carmel, city leaders voted in 2004 to annex Home Place and southwest Clay Township. Property owners in both areas collected enough signatures to fight the annexation. Carmel lost both cases in county courts, and appealed.

The Home Place case is pending before the Indiana Court of Appeals, while the southwest Clay case is scheduled for a hearing before the Indiana Supreme Court next month.

For more than a year, leaders in Fishers have considered annexing more than 2,000 homes in affluent neighborhoods near Geist Reservoir. Fishers is awaiting the outcome of the Carmel cases before moving forward.

Gard's district includes Geist and parts of Fishers. She opposes the town's effort to force annexation on homeowners, citing the potential for a 22 percent increase in property taxes. * * *

Under state law, opponents have 90 days to collect the signatures of 65 percent of property owners in an annexation area. Then those property owners can challenge the municipality in court, but doing so often costs a lot in legal fees.

Opposition groups in Geist and Home Place said they've set fundraising goals of around $100,000 for legal fees, while property owners in southwest Clay say they've spent more than $450,000 in their case.

Gard's Senate Bill 161 would reduce the percentage of signatures needed to challenge annexation from 65 percent to 51 percent. Her other proposal, SB 112, would force a community to reimburse property owners for legal fees if a judge rules against annexation.

"In most cases, these forced annexations are a slam-dunk, because most property owners don't know they can fight them, and if they do, they can't afford to," said Mike Fisher, a Geist resident opposed to annexation. "These bills at least give us a fighting chance."

But do they level the playing field?

"I don't think what's been proposed is going to solve the problem," said Sen. Gary Dillon, R-Columbia City. "If it's 51 percent instead of 65 percent, who can still afford $200,000 or $300,000 to go to court?"

Gard admitted her proposals are bandages for a larger problem, but said she'd still like to see them passed if a moratorium is ruled out.

Municipal leaders say any effort to curtail forced annexations would hurt the state's economy, because in some cases cities and towns need to resort to involuntary annexations to allow boundaries to reach areas where new industry can locate.

A sidebar notes that "Senate Bill 161 and SB 112 will be heard in the Senate Local Government and Elections committee, which meets at 1 p.m. Wednesday in Room 130 at the Statehouse." The sidebar also summarizes the two pending suits, Home Place, Southwest Clay Twp., and the pending Geist annexation.

The ILB has posted many entries on annexation issues - here is a list. A good starting point is this entry from Feb. 8th.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 19, 2007 07:52 AM
Posted to Indiana Law