07 LC
18 6194
Senate
Bill 110
By:
Senators Pearson of the 51st, Seabaugh of the 28th, Rogers of the 21st, Murphy
of the 27th and Johnson of the 1st
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 municipal annexation of territory, so as to repeal certain provisions
relating to authority, procedures, identification, and status of lands relative
to municipal deannexation; to provide for municipal deannexation of property
pursuant to application of landowners thereof; to provide for procedures,
conditions, and limitations; to provide for facilities and services; to provide
for other matters relative to the foregoing; 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 revising Code Section 36-36-22, relating to
authority, procedures, identification, and status of lands relative to
deannexation, as follows:
"36-36-22.
Authority
is granted to the governing bodies of the several municipal corporations of this
state to deannex an area or areas of the existing corporate limits thereof, in
accordance with the procedures provided in this article and in Article 1 of this
chapter, upon the written and signed applications of all of the owners of all of
the land, except the owners of any public street, road, highway, or right of
way, proposed to be deannexed, containing a complete description of the lands to
be deannexed and the adoption of a resolution by the governing authority of the
county in which such property is located consenting to such deannexation. 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. When such application is acted upon by the municipal authorities and the
land is, by ordinance, deannexed from the municipal corporation, an
identification of the property so deannexed shall be filed with the Department
of Community Affairs and with the governing authority of the county in which the
property is located in accordance with Code Section 36-36-3. When so deannexed,
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.
Reserved."
SECTION
2.
Said
chapter is further amended by adding a new article to read as
follows:
"ARTICLE
7
36-36-100.
The
procedures of this article shall apply to all deannexations pursuant to this
chapter but shall not apply to deannexations by local Acts of the General
Assembly.
36-36-101.
(a)
An area or areas within the existing corporate limits of a municipality that are
contiguous to the unincorporated area of a county within which the municipality
is located shall be deannexed in accordance with the procedures provided in this
Code section. Such deannexation shall occur upon the written and signed
application of:
(1)
All of the owners of all of the lands, except the owners of any public street,
road, highway, or right of way, proposed to be deannexed; or
(2)
Not less than 60 percent of the electors resident in the area included in any
such application and of the owners of not less than 60 percent of the land area,
by acreage, included in such application.
(b)
The application required by subsection (a) of this Code section 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)
When a complete application is submitted to the municipal authorities, 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.
(d)
An identification of the property so deannexed shall be filed with the
Department of Community Affairs and with the governing authority of the county
in which the property is located in accordance with Code Section 36-36-3.
(e)
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.
(f)
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.
(g)
For the purposes of this Code section, property shall be considered contiguous
to the unincorporated area of a county if the area proposed for deannexation
either abuts directly on an unincorporated area or would directly abut on the
unincorporated area if it were not otherwise separated from the municipal
boundary by lands owned by a municipal corporation, the county, or some other
political subdivision; lands owned by this state; the definite width of any
street or street right of way; any creek or river; or any right of way of a
railroad or other public service corporation.
(h)
Property that has been annexed to a municipal corporation shall not be deannexed
pursuant to the provisions of this Code section until at least two calendar
years after the date the annexation of said property became
effective.
(i)
Property that is included within the municipal boundaries of a newly
incorporated municipality shall not be subject to deannexation pursuant to the
provisions of this Code section until at least two calendar years after the date
the incorporation became effective.
(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 such annexation is accomplished by local Act of the General
Assembly.
36-36-102.
(a)(1)
Upon receiving an application for deannexation pursuant to Code Section
36-36-101, the municipal governing authority shall notify the governing
authority of the county within five business days of receipt of such notice if
any municipally owned public facilities are located in the area proposed to be
deannexed.
(2)
Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, ownership and control of
municipally owned public properties and facilities are not diminished or
otherwise affected by deannexation of the area in which the municipally owned
public property or facility is located.
(3)
Whenever municipally owned property or facility within an area deannexed from a
municipality is no longer usable for service to the area as a result of the
deannexation, the county shall be required to acquire said property from the
municipal governing authority under the following conditions:
(A)
The deannexation must be final;
(B)
The governing authority of the municipality has adopted an ordinance or
resolution declaring the property or facility is no longer usable for service to
the deannexed area as a result of the deannexation; and
(C)
Unless otherwise provided by mutual agreement, the municipality shall be
compensated by the county in an amount equal to the fair market value of the
property or facility which is no longer usable for service to the deannexed
area. If the county and municipality fail to agree on the fair market value of
the property or facility within 180 days following adoption of the resolution
required by this subsection, the question of fair market value shall be
submitted to a special master appointed by the superior court of the county in
which the property or facility is located for determination of
value.
(b)
Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) of this Code section, where
either water distribution or sewage treatment services or both are provided by a
municipality in accordance with a service delivery agreement entered into
pursuant to Article 2 of Chapter 70 of this title to an area of the municipality
that has been deannexed, the municipality may continue to provide such services
to the deannexed area after the deannexation becomes effective and ownership and
control of facilities are not diminished or otherwise affected by the
deannexation. Water distribution and sewage treatment services authorized by
this subsection shall be provided at rates and in accordance with terms as may
be applicable to water and sewer services provided to other municipal customers
within the unincorporated area. Where there are no prior existing municipal
customers in the unincorporated area, the rates charged to customers in the
deannexed area shall be reasonable and may be subject to challenge as provided
in paragraph (2) of Code Section 36-70-24.
(c)
Whenever a property is deannexed on both sides of a municipal road right of way,
the county within which the deannexed property is located shall assume the
ownership, control, care, and maintenance of such right of way unless the
governing authorities of the municipality and the county agree otherwise by
joint resolution."
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.