HomeMy Public PortalAbout2003_01_28_r021The Town of
Leesburg,
lrglnla
RESOLUTION NO.
A RESOLUTION:
PRESENTED January 28, 2003
2003-21 ADOPTED January 28, 2003
RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION TO HOUSE BILL NO. 2755 THAT
WOULD IMPOSE A FIVE-YEAR MORATORIUM ON CONTESTED
ANNEXATIONS BY TOWNS
WHEREAS, House Bill 2755 would bar contested annexation proceedings by towns for
five years and would even stay pending matters as of July 11, 2003; and
WHEREAS, while a moratorium on city annexations has existed for many years, the
General Assembly has never imposed a moratorium on town annexations; and
WHEREAS, Town annexations are very different from city annexations. For example, a
town annexation does not remove land from a county, does not cause a county to lose any
property taxes, and does not change where children go to school; and
WHEREAS, Towns in Virginia have expanded their:boundaries mOre than 170 times in
just the last 22 years; and
WHEREAS, the last legislative study of local gOvernment structure strongly endorsed the
town annexation process and in 1990, the "Grayson Commission" recognized that "annexation
by towns has not created the ill will" that has resulted from annexations by independent cities,
and it concluded that many municipalities "need to increase in size" and the Commission even
recommended an expansion of the town annexation process. It urged that towns be given an
almost automatic right to annex every 8 years with only very limited grounds for objecting to the
incorporation of more land; and
A RESOLUTION:
-2-
RESOLUTION IN OPPOSITION TO HOUSE BILL NO. 2755 THAT
WOULD IMPOSE A FIVE-YEAR MORATORIUM OON CONTESTED
ANNEXATIONS BY TOWNS
WHEREAS, the Commission on Local Government has reviewed dozens of annexation
agreements between towns and counties. The commissioners (including those who were
formerly county officials) have unanimously recommended approval of those agreements and,
have found that such annexations were in the best interests of the localities and the
Commonwealth.
WHEREAS, in the absence of a town right to annex, most agreements to expand town
boundaries would never occur. It is the very existence of a right to annex that has frequently
produced compromise agreements to permit an annexation or "boundary adjustment"; and
WHEREAS, the town annexation process is essential to the preservation of the financial
viability of towns in Virginia and is often needed to provide key services to surrounding urban
areas.
THEREFORE, RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Leesburg in Virginia that the
Town Council opposes HB 2755 and any moratorium on town annexation.
PASSED this 28th day of January 2003.
~n C. U~stattd, Mayor
Town of Leesburg
ATTEST:
C~:k of Council
RO3:HB2755