By Karissa Minn
kminn@salisburypost.com
As one annexation reform bill seems to have been stalled in the North Carolina House, another is gaining momentum.
Rep. Harry Warren, R-Rowan, is a primary sponsor of House Bill 531, which would allow residents in an area to resist annexation with a majority vote.
But that bill has been abandoned by two of its original sponsors for a new one with broader support. To stop an annexation under House Bill 845, 60 percent of the areaís property owners must sign a petition. After a successful petition, a municipality would be prohibited from attempting to annex the area for at least two years.
House Bill 845 was filed by Rep. Stephen LaRoque, a Republican representing Greene, Lenior and Wayne counties who also sponsored the previous bill.
It is incomplete in its current form, but a proposed committee substitute dated last Tuesday details the petition requirements. The bill is scheduled to be heard in committee today.
Warren said lawmakers decided to back the bill most likely to get Democratic Gov. Bev Perdueís signature.
ěWe need to be sure to craft legislation that isnít going to get a veto because itís so partisan,î Warren said. ěLarryís bill was written from the standpoint of the people to be annexed.î
He said itís important that meaningful annexation reform is passed, no matter which bill contains it.
ěIf the process is good for the city, it needs to be good for the people who are annexed as well, and they need to have voice in it,î Warren said. ěInvoluntary annexation all too often is not utilized for the good of the people annexed.î
LaRoqueís bill says that municipalities must provide water and sewer services to annexed areas within three and a half years of the annexation. A municipality can charge property owners for water and sewer line connections, but if more than 50 percent request them, it must provide connections to everyone in the area at no cost.
Warren said the N.C. League of Municipalities has been more accepting of the new bill than House Bill 531, filed by Rep. Larry Brown, R-Wake.
ěThe (LaRoque) bill is extremely restrictive but, if it is not further changed, it is likely better than an extended (unending?) moratorium that would of course allow for no annexations at all,î the league said in an email newsletter.
A two-year moratorium on involuntary annexations has been passed by the Senate and awaits approval in the House.
Jeff Matthews, president of anti-annexation group Good Neighbors of Rowan County, said local residents have made several trips to Raleigh seeking dialogue with lawmakers. He said his group endorses Brownís bill, which embodies ěwhere reform needs to go in North Carolina,î but it is willing to accept alternatives.
ěWeíre open-minded people, and all we want is a place at the table and fair shake,î Matthews said. ěNo one could make the argument that the current statute does that in an equitable way.î
Good Neighbors originally formed to fight Salisburyís proposed annexation of an area along N.C. 150. The cityís effort was put on hold, and the group has now joined other involuntary annexation opponents across North Carolina in working with legislators to change state law.
Vice President Carl Eagle said the local groupís main goal is to protect the N.C. 150 area, but it also wants to see other groups get what they want.
ěWe very much prefer (the Brown bill), but we donít intend to split the movement,î Eagle said. ěWe donít have any question that we can get 60 percent to protest.î
LaRoqueís bill does not include a requirement for county commissioners to approve any proposed annexation, as Brownís bill did. Rowan County Commissioner Chad Mitchell said that wouldnít be as beneficial as giving residents themselves a voice.
ěI think the key to it … is that the citizens of an affected annexation area have the opportunity to vote,î Mitchell said. ěIím just glad it looks like some of what I consider meaningful annexation reform will occur in this session.î
The city of Salisbury has no formal position on annexation, said Mayor Susan Kluttz, but the city learned from ěa very difficult annexation attempt,î referring the N.C. 150 annexation, and that current law needs to change.
The N.C. 150 annexation was blocked after so many residents signed up for costly water and sewer services that the annexation became too expensive for the city to proceed.
Kluttz said she has confidence that legislators will reach a compromise that helps both city and county residents.
ěI think it would make it difficult for the city to grow if you give people the choice to pay one amount or double that amount,î Kluttz said. ěPeople in the city have to pay for a lot of county services they donít use. … There are two sides of it, and Iím hopeful that the people who make this decision weigh both sides of it and come up with a solution thatís fair to everyone.î
Contact reporter Karissa Minn at 704-797-4222.