(1)(a) If any landowner or any registered elector in the
area proposed to be annexed, the board of county commissioners of any county
governing the area proposed to be annexed, or any municipality within one mile of
the area proposed to be annexed believes itself to be aggrieved by the acts of the
governing body of the annexing municipality in annexing said area to said
municipality, such acts or findings of the governing body may be reviewed by
certiorari in accordance with the Colorado rules of civil procedure. Such review
proceedings shall be instituted in any district court having jurisdiction of the county
in which the annexed area is located. In no event shall such a proceeding be
instituted prior to the effective date of the annexing ordinance by the annexing
municipality
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(1) (a) If any landowner or any registered elector in the
area proposed to be annexed, the board of county commissioners of any county
governing the area proposed to be annexed, or any municipality within one mile of
the area proposed to be annexed believes itself to be aggrieved by the acts of the
governing body of the annexing municipality in annexing said area to said
municipality, such acts or findings of the governing body may be reviewed by
certiorari in accordance with the Colorado rules of civil procedure. Such review
proceedings shall be instituted in any district court having jurisdiction of the county
in which the annexed area is located. In no event shall such a proceeding be
instituted prior to the effective date of the annexing ordinance by the annexing
municipality.
(b) If the annexed area is located within two or more counties, review
proceedings may be brought in any district court having jurisdiction of any one of
such counties. In all such certiorari proceedings under this part 1, the district court
shall be presided over by a judge appointed by the chief justice of the supreme
court of the state of Colorado, which judge shall not be from the judicial district in
which the area proposed to be annexed is located nor from a judicial district
contiguous thereto.
(2) (a) (I) All such actions to review the findings and the decision of the
governing body shall be brought within sixty days after the effective date of the
ordinance, and, if such action is not brought within such time, such action shall
forever be barred.
(II) All such actions to review the findings and the decision of the governing
body shall be subject to the following requirement, which is a condition precedent
to the right to obtain judicial review under this section: Any party bringing such
action shall first have filed a motion for reconsideration within ten days of the
effective date of the ordinance finalizing the challenged annexation, which motion
shall state with particularity the grounds upon which judicial review is sought.
(III) The district court shall schedule such actions for expedited hearing.
(IV) In the event that the person bringing an action pursuant to this section
fails to substantially prevail, the court may award the municipality its reasonable
attorney fees and costs of defense.
(b) In any action brought within the sixty-day limitation of paragraph (a) of
this subsection (2) to review the annexation of an enclave pursuant to section 31-12-106 (1), the court may review the findings and determinations of the governing body
in annexing any territory which, in whole or in part, resulted in the creation of the
enclave. If the court finds that any such prior annexation resulted in the creation of
a municipal boundary that consists of public rights-of-way as set forth in section
31-12-106 (1.1)(a)(I) or occurred without compliance with section 30 of article II of
the state constitution as set forth in section 31-12-106 (1.1)(a)(II), it shall declare the
annexation of the enclave to be void, but no such finding or decision shall affect the
validity of the prior annexation.
(3) Review proceedings instituted under this section shall not be extended
further than to determine whether the governing body has exceeded its jurisdiction
or abused its discretion under the provisions of this part 1.
(4) Any annexation accomplished in accordance with the provisions of this
part 1 shall not be directly or collaterally questioned in any suit, action, or
proceeding, except as expressly authorized in this section.
(5) If the hearing has not been stenographically reported as provided in
section 31-12-109 (2) and if the court determines, after proper investigation, that the
minutes of the hearing are not adequate to form the basis for a determination of the
issue in the certiorari proceedings, the court may proceed to try the issue de novo.
(6) All proceedings for judicial review of any annexation proceeding under
this part 1 shall be advanced as a matter of immediate public interest and concern
and heard at the earliest practical moment. The courts shall be open at all times for
the purposes of this part 1.