§ 153A-303. Extension of service districts. - North Carolina Statutes

§ 153A‑303. Extension of service districts.

(a)        Standards. – The board of commissioners may by resolutionannex territory to any service district upon finding that:

(1)        The area to be annexed is contiguous to the district, withat least one eighth of the area's aggregate external boundary coincident withthe existing boundary of the district; and

(2)        That the area to be annexed requires the services of thedistrict.

(b)        Annexation by Petition. – The board of commissioners mayalso by resolution extend by annexation the boundaries of any service districtwhen one hundred percent (100%) of the real property owners of the area to beannexed have petitioned the board for annexation to the service district.

(c)        Territory lying within the corporate limits of a city orsanitary district may not be annexed to a service district unless the governingbody of the city or sanitary district agrees by resolution to such annexation.

(d)        Report. – Before the public hearing required by subsection(e), the board shall cause to be prepared a report containing:

(1)        A map of the service district and the adjacent territory,showing the present and proposed boundaries of the district;

(2)        A statement showing that the area to be annexed meets thestandards and requirements of subsections (a), (b), and (c); and

(3)        A plan for extending services to the area to be annexed.

The report shall be available for public inspection in the office ofthe clerk to the board for at least two weeks before the date of the publichearing.

(e)        Hearing and Notice. – The board shall hold a public hearingbefore adopting any resolution extending the boundaries of a service district.Notice of the hearing shall state the date, hour and place of the hearing andits subject, and shall include a statement that the report required bysubsection (d) is available for inspection in the office of the clerk to theboard. The notice shall be published at least once not less than one weekbefore the date of the hearing. In addition, the notice shall be mailed at leastfour weeks before the date of the hearing to the owners as shown by the countytax records as of the preceding January 1 of all property located within thearea to be annexed. The notice may be mailed by any class of U.S. mail which isfully prepaid. The person designated by the board to mail the notice shallcertify to the board that the mailing has been completed, and his certificateshall be conclusive in the absence of fraud.

(f)         Effective Date. – The resolution extending the boundariesof the district shall take effect at the beginning of a fiscal year commencingafter its passage, as determined by the board. (1973, c. 489, s. 1; c. 822, s. 2; 1981, c. 53, s. 2.)