• Can my Federal Government Senator or Representative stop the municipality from doing this?

No, _But because they do represent you, you should ask them to write a letter opposing what your local and state government is doing to you and other property owners.

• Can I take the municipality to court to try stop this?

Yes, you can. But before you do, realize that the Involuntary Annexation laws have been in place in North Carolina since 1959.

Legal challenges can delay the annexation. Most legal challenges that are brought to court are based on whether the involuntary annexation process was properly followed by the Municipality. A small percentage of these cases have been won, but most cases eventually lose and the residents fighting the involuntary annexation end up being annexed by the City or Town anyway.

Changing North Carolina State Annexation Law is the only real way to win over this injustice.
It will take the grass roots effort of people like you from across the state to convince the legislators that it is time to change these laws.
That is what this statewide effort is all about. You can join your voice to many others in North Carolina through the StopNCAnnexation effort!

• Should I seek legal advice?

Many property owners have done that and it is an option you could consider.
Getting sound legal advice from firms that have experience in challenging North Carolina forced annexation law should be your preferred choice of legal representation, but you should also be aware that the court appeal will delay, but may not defeat, forced annexation.

• The City (Town) is saying that I use municipal services and that I am not paying my fair share. What does that mean?

The municipal politicians and bureaucrats are claiming that you use services that the Municipality provides. This may be the parks or other publicly funded places or even the roads within the municipality. Yet most municipalities charge user fees for non residents to access these services.
Some Cities and Towns have even claimed that if you, as a nonresident, shop at a privately owned grocery store within the City limits, that this constitutes using municipal services! The rationale that Municipalities try to put forward by this statement is that everyone that enters any city for any reason should be paying municipal taxes.

As you shake your head in wonder at this illogic, ask yourself a few questions. Doesn't a grocery store WANT more business? Are the parks so full of people that the city can not accommodate anyone from outside of the community? If so, should visitors from other cities have to pay as well?
Which city should you pay city taxes to if you drive to and shop in more than one city? All of them? Or none of them because the cities are all getting their money's worth from user fees you pay and your $$ support of city business'?

• I have heard that the municipality describes my property, and the rest of the properties it intends to forcibly annex, as an area that is “urban in character.” What does this mean?

They are saying that your area has or is taking on the look, feel, or "character of a urban area, areas usually associated within municipalities, instead of a traditional rural, less populated area. As housing developments spring up, Cities and Towns claim that this changes rural areas to urban areas. Regardless of what your area is called, you of course, (unless you are a developer), have had nothing to do with the changes that have occurred around you. Your neighbors may have sold large tracts of land and developers may have built high density housing around you, but the fact still remains that you had nothing to do with the property owners' decisions to change the look, feel, and character of your area

Also remember that the government is the zoning regulator, and they, by regulating the "character of new development around you, are the ones who have changed the “character” of the area. When the government near you changes the zoning and regulation, should you be forced to pay for those decisions that you had no say in? Involuntary annexation simply means that the city wants you to pay taxes to help pay for the changes that they, the government, have made to the area all around you.

• I am told that I will be forced to hook up to the municipal water and sewer system. Is this true? What are the costs?

One of the big reasons stated by municipalities for involuntary annexation is because of the potential for "failing private water and sewer systems This ploy is to put a fear into you, the property owner, that maybe these systems will fail on your property and you will need these municipal sewer and water services or even worse, you systems will damage the surrounding environment.

How many of your neighbors wells and septic systems, that you know of, have failed recently beyond repair? The true answer is very, very few. Trouble can and does happen with private systems but they are usually repairable, at the expense of the property owner.

Most experts agree that a properly installed and well maintained septic system can and will last indefinitely.

Private water systems have to do with the ecology of both your and the surrounding properties. Failing water systems are most often are caused by changes in the surrounding environment. High density developments and large shopping centers change the way the water runs into the ground. (Big parking lots, new streets, driveways with curbs and gutters, and roofs that direct the water to collection systems instead of letting it sink into the ground that it falls on) Some of these changes can and do effect private well water systems.

If you have a properly installed well water system, and it fails, local government may have caused the failure by high pressure, high density rezoning and development of the surrounding area. By intensely developing the area, increasing paved surfaces, they change the hydrology of that area.

There are many rules and regulations about water and sewer and each are unique to individual areas. It may be an underlying goal of local government to have you connected to municipal sewer and water. This allows for high density building, putting more homes and business' crammed closer together, to gain more tax dollars and utility revenue!

Perhaps you are beginning to understand why big developers also like annexation? They can build more on a piece of property and of course get more money for it. The same holds true for the government. More homes and businesses means ,in the short term, more tax dollars. You will need to thoroughly research the matter in your specific area.

If you are on a community sewer system, not connected to any municipality now, it is the responsibility of the operators of that system to make sure it does not fail. Remember, your government probably issued permits and approved it's installation and design. If this system fails, why should you have to pay for both the government and the system installers mistakes or negligence? If the system fails due to a natural disaster, say a hurricane or flood, why shouldn't this system be entitled to emergency assistance, just as a municipal system would be, if it failed due to natural disasters.

The statutes also state that if the municipality provides such services, that they must have them available to you within 2 years from the date of annexation. Even if you are not required to "hook up they can charge you a monthly "privilege fee" for having the water and sewer lines available to your property. They will often tell you, the property owner, that if you hook up when they are installing the line it will be much cheaper than if you wait until later. Unfortunately, much cheaper will still mean thousands of dollars to hook up. (Hook up now and it will only cost you $6,000.00 but later it will cost you $20,000.00) You will need to find out the specifics for your area to know just how much.

• But my well and septic system are just fine! Can’t I just keep using them and not hook up?

Maybe and maybe not. Read the details about water and sewer hook up for more information. Involuntary annexation is about redeveloping your property with city services you do not need and do not want, so the city can collect additional taxes and utility fees from you.

• What other municipality service will I have to pay for?

Along with sewer and water fees, there can be garbage fees, vehicle fees and other special fees that the Municipality assesses to all of it’s residents

• What other municipality services are they supposed to provide

The simple answer is that you are supposed to receive the same services with the same standards* as those who currently live in the municipality. Street lighting, for example must be provided to meet the standards set for the municipality. If curb & gutter and sidewalks are required by the municipality for new building areas, it will be required in the newly annexed areas as well.

• I am told that I live in an ETJ (Extra Territorial Jurisdiction) and that annexation is the next logical step. What is an ETJ?

It is an area that a municipality took over the planning and zoning jurisdiction of. They got this authority from the County through your County's permission. The municipality, after receiving this authority, provides planning, zoning, and property regulations for this area. If you live in an ETJ area, you know that you did not pay property taxes for the municipality to perform these services (except for fees for building permits and inspections, etc.)
Understand that if the municipality had not taken over such jurisdiction, the County would have continued to do what the municipality started doing when it took over. While the County may not have made the same decisions, the fact remains that the service was the same. The municipality could have just wanted this jurisdiction so it could increase the density of the area by supplying municipal water and sewer. Increasing the residential density results in more tax revenue and utility fees for the municipality.

• But I did not know that lived in an ETJ

This often happens because the people in the ETJ area have not had to pay additional taxes and have not made any significant improvements to their property requiring inspection or rezoning. The property owners in the area at the time the ETJ district was granted should have been notified of the request for jurisdiction.

To find out when your property was included in the ETJ, check with City/Town Clerk for official minutes of when your area was made a part of the ETJ. Also check with the Clerk of the County Board of Commissioners to find out when your County Commissioner Board voted to allow the Municipality to include your area in their ETJ.

• If my property is annexed, what happens with police, fire, and ambulance Service protection?

You are supposed to receive the same services that are currently provided for the City/Town. There are special provisions for dealing with the current fire protection you have if different from the Municipality.

If you have had the County Sheriffs for your police protection, the municipalities police department will respond instead of the sheriffs department. You need to ask if the municipality plans on building a branch police department office in this annexed area. This is an important question because since you are being involuntarily annexed, and you are going to pay equal taxes in the municipality, you should not have to suffer with longer emergency response times than any other part of the municipality. If they tell you that they are going to add officers and squad cars to patrol your area, ask how much this is going to cost the current tax payers.

Check with the Municipality and County to find out how Fire and Emergency Ambulance Service is effected.

• What about garbage services?

You will receive and pay for the same services that the residents of the municipality receive and pay for.

• I have animals such as horses, cows, goats, etc. on my property. Can I keep them?

There are special laws and provisions that relate to both state and local statutes and ordinances. You will need to ask the municipality about the specific statutes and local ordinances and how they would regulate this.
Some involuntary annexation victims were promised that they could keep their farm animal only to have later restrictions enacted because new neighbors complain to the city about noises and smells from the animals.