Wilmington City Council will discuss proposed guidelines to deal with voluntary annexation requests Monday morning during a work session that will follow council’s regular agenda-review meeting.
The topic follows the state legislature’s recent ban on involuntary, or “forced,” annexations as tools cities used to expand their limits and tax bases, without a requirement of consent from affected property owners. One House bill, which passed on a 66-50 vote in May, repealed an annexation the City of Wilmington carried out in the Monkey Junction area. Others in the state, including a pair of involuntary annexation ordinances around Southport, were similarly voided.
A second House bill that passed the same day on a 72-45 vote essentially deleted the option of involuntary annexation for local governments in the future. For annexations initiated by municipalities, North Carolina now requires a vote of approval from unincorporated residents before a municipality can take them in. If the majority favors the proposed annexation, it’s voluntary.
Since the changes, the City of Wilmington has received an increase in requests for voluntary annexations, according to a bulletin from the city’s Communications Office on Friday. “Many of the requests are in response to increased demand for multi-family housing, which is easier to develop with the city’s more urban zoning requirements,” the city explained.
If residents request an annexation, it’s voluntary to begin with, but City Council has requested information from staff on how to navigate the process in light of the new laws. The discussion will commence after council’s agenda-review session scheduled Monday, 8:30 a.m., at City Hall.
The preliminary agenda, subject to change, is viewable here.
