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Thursday, February 08, 2007

Ind. Law- Senate is urged to change annexation law

Lesley Stedman Weidenbener reports today in the Louisville Courier Journal on a Senate committee hearing yesterday. Here are some quotes from a long story:

Opponents of forced annexations told a Senate committee yesterday that state law makes it difficult and too expensive for most property owners to fight cities trying to expand their borders.

Homeowners facing annexations by Jeffersonville, Carmel, Fishers and Muncie urged the committee to eliminate so-called involuntary annexations and put the burden on cities to convince a majority of homeowners to become residents.

But short of that change -- something the Indiana Association of Cities and Towns adamantly opposes -- more than a dozen people asked the senators to pass two bills before them:

Senate Bill 112, which would require a city to pay the attorney fees for homeowners who defeat an annexation attempt in court.

Senate Bill 161, which would reduce the number of signatures needed to challenge an annexation in court from 65 percent of the affected landowners to 51 percent.

"You have a chance to do the right thing and change the current statutes that heavily and unfairly favor the annexing municipality, to make it easier for people to voice their concerns," said Vanessa Smith, president of Citizens Against Annexation, which is fighting a proposal by the city of Jeffersonville.

"Please show us that you honor our democracy and vote to change these laws."

Mayors from across the state defended current law and said most cities turn to involuntary annexations only rarely and only when such moves are necessary for the good of the larger community.

"We need to preserve and protect the ability for communities to grow," said LaPorte Mayor Leigh Morris.

Still, several committee members were moved by homeowners' stories and said they'd like to consider banning involuntary annexations. * * *

The law does require cities to take substantial steps to complete an involuntary annexation. A city council must pass an ordinance and have pubic hearings. It must develop a fiscal plan for the annexed area, detailing the services it will provide to the new residents and how it will pay for them.

Opponents of the annexation ordinance have 90 days from the time the council or town board passes it to gather signatures from at least 65 percent of landowners.

If they do, the issue goes to court, where a judge decides whether the city has followed the steps outlined by state law, whether it has developed an appropriate fiscal plan and whether the annexation is in the best interest of the residents.

Homeowners who have fought or are fighting annexations told senators that 90 days isn't long enough to collect what sometimes can be thousands of signatures. They said the court battle can cost as much as $300,000, and they said that if opponents fail to collect enough signatures, they can't even challenge the most basic points of law.

"This is not a fair process," said Bob Thomas, president of a group that fought an annexation attempt by Carmel. "This is an uneven process."

The ILB has posted dozens of entries relating to annexation issues over the past few years, including the following:

Posted by Marcia Oddi on February 8, 2007 10:14 AM
Posted to Indiana Law