§ 160A-36. Character of area to be annexed.
§ 160A‑36. Character of area to be annexed.
(a) A municipal governing board may extend the municipalcorporate limits to include any area which meets the general standards ofsubsection (b), and which meets the requirements of subsection (c).
(b) The total area to be annexed must meet the followingstandards:
(1) It must be adjacent or contiguous to the municipality'sboundaries at the time the annexation proceeding is begun, except if the entireterritory of a county water and sewer district created under G.S. 162A‑86(b1)is being annexed, the annexation shall also include any noncontiguous pieces ofthe district as long as the part of the district with the greatest land area isadjacent or contiguous to the municipality's boundaries at the time the annexationproceeding is begun.
(2) At least one eighth of the aggregate external boundaries ofthe area must coincide with the municipal boundary.
(3) No part of the area shall be included within the boundary ofanother incorporated municipality.
(c) The area to be annexed must be developed for urban purposesat the time of approval of the report provided for in G.S. 160A‑35. Forpurposes of this section, a lot or tract shall not be considered in use for acommercial, industrial, institutional, or governmental purpose if the lot ortract is used only temporarily, occasionally, or on an incidental orinsubstantial basis in relation to the size and character of the lot or tract.For purposes of this section, acreage in use for commercial, industrial,institutional, or governmental purposes shall include acreage actually occupiedby buildings or other man‑made structures together with all areas thatare reasonably necessary and appurtenant to such facilities for purposes ofparking, storage, ingress and egress, utilities, buffering, and other ancillaryservices and facilities. Area of streets and street rights‑of‑wayshall not be used to determine total acreage under this section. An areadeveloped for urban purposes is defined as:
(1) Any area which is so developed that at least sixty percent(60%) of the total number of lots and tracts in the area at the time ofannexation are used for residential, commercial, industrial, institutional orgovernmental purposes, and is subdivided into lots and tracts such that at leastsixty percent (60%) of the total acreage, not counting the acreage used at thetime of annexation for commercial, industrial, governmental or institutionalpurposes, consists of lots and tracts three acres or less in size.
(2) An area so developed that, at the time of the approval ofthe annexation report, all tracts in the area to be annexed are used forcommercial, industrial, governmental, or institutional purposes.
(3) The entire area of any county water and sewer districtcreated under G.S. 162A‑86(b1), but this subsection only applies toannexation by a municipality if that:
a. Municipality has provided in a contract with that districtthat the area is developed for urban purposes; and
b. Contract provides for the municipality to operate the sewersystem of that county water and sewer district;
provided that the special categorization provided bythis subsection only applies if the municipality is annexing in one proceedingthe entire territory of the district not already within the corporate limits ofa municipality.
(d) In fixing new municipal boundaries, a municipal governingboard shall use recorded property lines and streets as boundaries. Some or allof the boundaries of a county water and sewer district may also be used whenthe entire district not already within the corporate limits of a municipalityis being annexed.
(e) The area of an abolished water and sewer district shall beconsidered to be a water and sewer district for the purpose of this sectioneven after its abolition under G.S. 162A‑87.2(b). (1959, c. 1010, s. 4; 1973, c. 426, s. 74; 1985, c.757, s. 205(c); 1993 (Reg. Sess., 1994), c. 696, s. 6; c. 714, s. 6; 1998‑150,s. 6.)