§ 703 — Petition by residents or property owners to initiate annexation of territory

§ 703. Petition by residents or property owners to initiate annexation\nof territory. 1. Territory in one or more local governments adjoining\none or more other local governments may be annexed to the latter\npursuant to the provisions of this article. A petition for such\nannexation, describing the territory, stating the approximate number of\ninhabitants thereof, and signed (1) by at least twenty per centum of the\npersons residing therein, if any, qualified to vote for officers of the\ncity or town in which such territory is situated or, if such territory\nis situated in a village, for officers of such village, or (2) by the\nowners of a majority in assessed valuation of the real property in such\nterritory assessed upon the last preceding assessment roll of, or\nutilized by, the local government or governments in which it is\nsituated, may be presented to the governing board or boards of the\naffected local government or governments in which such territory is\nsituated and a certified copy or copies thereof to the governing board\nor boards of the local government or governments to which it is proposed\nto annex such territory.\n 2. The petition must also be authenticated as to all the signatures\nupon each separate sheet by appending at the bottom of such sheet an\naffidavit of a witness as to the subscription thereof, substantially as\nfollows:\nState of New York )\n ) ss.:\nCounty of )\n........... (name of witness) being duly sworn, says: I reside at\n........... in the .......... of .......... (fill in residence) in the\nstate of New York; I know each of the persons whose names are subscribed\nto the above sheet having ............. (fill in number) signatures; and\neach of them subscribed the same in my presence.\n ............................\n (Signature of witness.)\n Sworn to before me this ....\n day of ............ , 19....\n ............................\n (Official title of officer)\n 3. If the petition is signed by the owners of a majority in assessed\nvaluation of the real property in such territory assessed upon the last\npreceding assessment roll of, or utilized by, the local government or\ngovernments in which the territory is situated, there must be attached\nto the petition a certificate of an assessor responsible for the\npreparation of such assessment roll certifying to such facts. If signed\nby at least twenty per centum of the qualified resident electors, as\ndefined in subdivision one of this section, there must be attached to\nthe petition a certificate of the board of elections of the county\ncontaining such territory, certifying to such facts.\n