§ 33:172 — Petition to annex territory; valuation of property; notice of filing petition; hearing
§172. Petition to annex territory; valuation of property; notice of filing petition; hearing concerning proposed ordinance; alternative methods A.
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§172. Petition to annex territory; valuation of property; notice of filing petition; hearing
concerning proposed ordinance; alternative methods
A.(1)(a)(i) No ordinance enlarging the boundaries of a municipality shall be valid
unless, prior to the adoption thereof, a petition has been presented to the governing body of
a municipality containing the written assent of a majority of the registered voters and a
majority in number of the resident property owners as well as twenty-five percent in value
of the property of the resident property owners within the area proposed to be included in the
corporate limits, all according to the certificates of the parish assessor and parish registrar
of voters.
(ii) In addition to the requirements of Item (i) of this Subparagraph, in the parish of
Ascension, at least thirty days prior to the adoption of an ordinance to enlarge the boundaries,
the municipal governing authority shall provide written notification of the proposed
annexation to the governing authority of the parish.
(b) If there are no registered voters residing in the area proposed for annexation, then
the requirement for a majority of the registered voters on the petition shall not apply.
(c) If there are no resident property owners, nor registered voters residing, in the area
proposed for annexation and the area is vacant land, then the requirement for a majority of
the resident property owners and a majority of the registered voters on the petition shall not
apply, so long as the petition contains the written assent of each nonresident property owner
of each tract, lot, or parcel in the area proposed for annexation. No ordinance annexing
vacant property across parish boundaries shall be valid unless it has first been approved by
the parish governing authority of the area to be annexed.
(d)(i) With regard to any proposed annexation pursuant to Subparagraph (c), the
parish in which the land proposed to be annexed is located shall have standing to contest
whether the proposed annexation is reasonable. Such suit shall be filed within the thirty-day
period before the ordinance becomes effective.
(ii) Any suit filed pursuant to Item (i) shall be given preferential treatment on the
docket and shall be tried summarily, without a jury, and in open court, within thirty days after
the filing of the suit.
(iii) The court shall consider the reasonableness of the proposed extension of the
corporate limits, which consideration shall include but not be limited to an evaluation of the
desires of the owners of the property proposed to be annexed, the anticipated public benefit
of the proposed annexation, and the fiscal and financial impact that the extension of the
corporate limits of the municipality will have on the municipality, the parish, and the
neighboring property owners.
(iv) If the property proposed to be annexed is contiguous to the existing corporate
limits, then the parish shall bear the burden of establishing, by a preponderance of the
evidence, that the proposed extension is not reasonable. If the property is not contiguous to
the existing corporate limits, then the municipality shall bear the burden of establishing, by
a preponderance of the evidence, that the proposed extension is reasonable. "Contiguous",
as used in this provision, means that at least thirty-two feet of the vacant land proposed to
be annexed is adjacent to the corporate limits and expands to a width greater than thirty-two
feet within three hundred feet from the corporate limits.
(v) Any interested citizen of the municipality may intervene in any suit filed pursuant
to this Subparagraph to contest the proposed extension of the corporate limits pursuant to
R.S. 33:174.
(vi) The trial judge shall render judgment within five days after the matter is
submitted to him. The clerk of the trial court shall immediately notify all parties or their
counsel of record by telephone and/or facsimile transmission of the judgment and as
provided in Code of Civil Procedure Article 1913.
(vii) Within five days after the rendition of the judgment, an aggrieved party may
appeal the judgment by obtaining an order of appeal. The clerk of the trial court shall give
notice of the order of appeal to the clerk of the court of appeal and to all the parties or their
counsel of record. The trial judge shall fix the return date at a date not later than ten days
after rendition of the judgment. The clerk of the trial court shall prepare the record on appeal
and transmit it to the clerk of the court of appeal on the return day.
(viii) Immediately upon receipt of the record the clerk of the court of appeal shall
notify all parties and the case shall be heard no later than ten days after the record is lodged.
The court of appeal shall render judgment not later than five days after the case is argued.
The clerk of the court of appeal shall immediately notify all parties or their counsel of record
of the judgment by telephone or facsimile transmission and as provided in the Uniform Rules
of Louisiana Courts of Appeal.
(ix) An application to the supreme court for a writ of certiorari shall be made within
ten days after the court of appeal renders judgment.
(x) No application for a new trial or for a rehearing shall be entertained by any court,
but a court may, upon its own motion correct manifest error to which its attention is called.
(xi) A final judgment holding that the extension is reasonable in a suit under this
Subparagraph shall be binding in any suit brought under R.S. 33:174.
(xii) If the proposed extension of boundaries is adjudged reasonable, the ordinance
shall go into effect ten days after a final judgment is rendered and signed, subject to the
provisions of R.S. 33:174. If the proposed extension is adjudged invalid, the ordinance shall
be vacated and the proposed extension shall be denied, and no ordinances proposing
practically the same extension shall be introduced for one year thereafter.
(e) If property annexed pursuant to Subparagraph (c) is subject to parish zoning
regulations applicable to the property and in force at the time of annexation, then for a period
of two years subsequent to annexation, the municipal zoning regulations applicable to the
property shall not be less restrictive in uses permitted than the applicable parish zoning
regulations at the time the area is annexed, unless the parish governing authority consents,
by resolution, to such zoning.
(2) At the request of any municipality contemplating the annexation of a tract of
land, the parish assessor shall provide a certified list of the property within the area proposed
to be annexed, and the registrar of voters shall provide a certified list of the registered voters
residing in the area proposed to be annexed. At the request of any municipality
contemplating the annexation of a tract of land, the parish assessor shall provide a
certification as to whether a petition for annexation contains the written assent of twenty-five
percent in value of the property of the resident property owners, and the registrar of voters
shall provide a certification as to whether a petition for annexation contains a written assent
of a majority of the registered voters within the area proposed to be annexed.
(3) The valuation of the property within the area proposed to be annexed shall be
certified to by the assessor according to the assessment of each owner signing the petition.
When there has been a change of ownership since the last assessment of the property, the
assessor shall certify the valuation of the present owner in accordance with the last
assessment appearing on the rolls against any previous owner. In any case when the property
of the present owner has not specifically been assessed, the assessor shall estimate the
assessed value of the property for the current year and certify the same as the value of the
property. In any case in which multiple property owners are assessed under a single
assessment, neither the assessor nor the annexing municipality shall be required to make
further inquiry beyond the face of the assessor's records as to the identity of unnamed
property owners. Neither the assessor nor the annexing municipality shall be required to
count or consider the existence of multiple fractional property interests in determining
whether the percentages required in this Subsection have been met.
(4) For all purposes pertaining to municipal annexations, including but not limited
to the filing of a suit contesting an annexation pursuant to the procedures established in this
Chapter, the certificates of the parish assessor and parish registrar of voters shall be the sole
evidence of the written assent of the number of registered voters, number of resident property
owners, and value of resident property owners required by this Subsection. The parish
assessor, the parish registrar of voters, and the annexing municipality may rely upon the
certificates of the parish assessor and the parish registrar of voters, said reliance establishing
a rebuttable presumption.
(5) The petition required by this Subsection shall be in writing, but no special form
shall be necessary. However, the petition shall provide a description of the general area to
be annexed which shall be attached thereto. Multiple petitions may be used to annex
different properties so long as the petitions, when considered together, are capable of
covering an area which has a contiguous outer boundary in which the above majority and
percentage requirements for annexation are met.
(6) Notwithstanding any of the foregoing, the city of New Orleans cannot incorporate
any area of Jefferson, Plaquemines, or St. Bernard parishes. In addition, except as provided
in this Paragraph, the provisions of this Section shall not otherwise apply to the parish of
Jefferson.
B. Notice by publication shall be given once of the filing of the petition in a
newspaper published or having general circulation in the municipality. No ordinance
enlarging the boundaries of the municipality shall be adopted until ten days after the
publication of the notice. Anyone desiring to be heard with reference to the proposed
ordinance shall notify the clerk or secretary of the municipality in writing and the governing
authorities, before adopting any ordinance, shall grant such hearing.
C. Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraphs (1) through (5) of Subsection A of
this Section, any municipality may annex contiguous areas by election provided at least
ninety percent of the boundary of the area to be annexed is common to the boundary of the
municipality, and provided further that a majority of the registered voters residing in the area
proposed for annexation, and voting in an election held according to the provisions of R.S.
33:154 through 161 vote in favor of such annexation. No election as provided herein shall
be necessary if there are no registered voters residing in the area to be annexed.
D.(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraphs (A)(1) through (5) of this
Section, any municipality may annex contiguous areas without the petitions required by
Subsection A of this Section, by ordinance, provided prior to the adoption of any such
ordinance, the question of the annexation shall be submitted to the qualified voters residing
within the area proposed to be annexed in a special election called for that purpose by the
municipality, and a majority of those voting at such election shall have voted in favor of the
annexation.
(2) Any municipality may also call such an election after being requested to do so
through a petition signed by at least twenty-five percent of the resident property owners
residing in the area requesting annexation and by the owners of at least twenty-five percent
in value of the resident property within such area. The valuation of the property shall be
determined as set forth in Subsection A of this Section. The petition presented to the
municipality shall contain an accurate description of the area proposed to be annexed. All
elections called under the provisions of this Subsection shall be conducted in the same
manner as are other special elections called for bond and tax purposes by municipalities.
(3) In addition to the requirements of Paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Subsection, in
the parish of Ascension, at least thirty days prior to an election held pursuant to this
Subsection, the municipal governing authority shall provide written notification of the
upcoming election to the governing authority of the parish.
E.(1) In addition to all other requirements and restrictions established by law, no
municipality which is not wholly within the boundaries of St. Martin Parish shall annex
territory in St. Martin Parish without the approval of the governing authority of St. Martin
Parish. This Subsection shall apply to any annexation by ordinance adopted by a
municipality but which has not taken effect on August 15, 2001.
(2) The provisions of this Subsection shall apply only to the town of Broussard.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision to the contrary, if as a result of an
annexation into a municipality, the sales tax rate on transactions within the annexed area
exceeds nine and one-half percent, then the revenue produced by the rate in excess of nine
and one-half percent shall be shared equally between the parish, municipalities, and other
sales tax districts.
F.(1) Except as provided in Subsections C and D of this Section and in R.S. 33:172.1
and 172.2, the governing authority of a municipality within the parish of St. Tammany, other
than a municipality with a population of more than twenty-five thousand persons, may annex
vacant land contiguous to its borders only in accordance with the procedure provided in this
Subsection.
(2)(a) The governing authority of a municipality that proposes to annex property
pursuant to this Subsection shall adopt a written resolution expressing its intent to annex,
which resolution shall include a description of the property to be annexed. A certified copy
of the resolution shall be submitted to the parish council within ten days after its adoption.
(b) The parish council shall have forty-five days after the receipt of the resolution to
concur with, reject, or take no action regarding the proposed annexation.
(c) The parish council shall notify the municipal governing authority within ten days
after the council votes on the proposed annexation.
(d) If within forty-five days after the resolution is submitted to it, the parish council
concurs with or takes no action with respect to the proposed annexation, the municipality
may proceed with the annexation.
(e)(i) If within forty-five days after the resolution is submitted to it, the parish
council rejects the proposed annexation, the rejection shall be submitted to the municipality.
In the event the council rejects a proposed annexation pursuant to this Paragraph, an
annexation panel shall be formed consisting of the following members:
(aa) The chairman of the parish council or his designee.
(bb) The chairman of the governing authority of the affected municipality or his
designee.
(cc) An arbitrator who is selected by and is a member of the American Arbitration
Association.
(ii) At the call of the arbitrator and within sixty days after the parish council rejects
the proposed annexation, the panel shall hold a public hearing to consider and render a
decision on whether to recommend the proposed annexation. The decision of the panel shall
be binding on the parties.
(iii) The cost of the arbitrator shall be borne equally by the parish and the
municipality.
(3)(a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a parish council and the governing
authority of each municipality within the parish may establish operating agreements to
govern annexation procedures and/or other matters related to growth management issues
between and among themselves. Each agreement shall be filed in the conveyance records
of the clerk of court in and for the parish.
(b) In the event the parish and an individual municipality fail to enter into any
agreement authorized by Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph by April 1, 2003, the provisions
of this Subsection shall thereafter be null and inapplicable to that particular municipality.
NOTE: See Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 159, §2, relative to R.S.
33:172(A)(1) and (D) in Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 31, superseding Act
No. 159 and other Acts of session.
NOTE: See Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 159, §3, concerning amendment
of Subsection C superseding other Acts of session.
NOTE: See Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 31, §2, relative to contesting
certain annexations which occurred prior to 6/27/01.
Louisiana § 33:172 (Petition to annex territory; valuation of property; notice of filing petition; hearing) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.