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HomeMy WebLinkAboutIR 8502 INFORMAL REPORT TO CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS Nor 8502 Date: June 10, 2003 Or r To: The Mayor and Members of the City Council Page 1 of 1 ex a 1W5 SUBJECT: Full Purpose Annexation of Highway 287 and Eagle Mountain Lake Areas In 2002, the City of Fort Worth began the process of consideration of annexing approximately 15,000 acres for full purposes in the Highway 287 and Eagle Mountain Lake areas. As a result of public meetings in which the size of these areas and the cost of immediate full purpose annexation were considered, it was decided in December 2002 to annex for limited purposes 1,238 acres in the Eagle Mountain Lake area and in January 2003, the 7,744 acres in the Highway 287 area. Attached is a memorandum dated May 30, 2003 from Deputy City Attorney, Marcella Olson, that discusses, in detail, the distinctions between full purpose annexation and limited purpose annexation. Having annexed the Highway 287 and Eagle Mountain Lake areas for limited purposes, the City of Fort Worth must annex these areas for full purposes within three (3) years. To meet this requirement, the City included the Highway 287 and Eagle Mountain Lake areas in its annexation plan on October 29, 2002 and thus can complete the full purpose annexation in November 2005. In addition, City staff has sent notice of the proposed full purpose annexation to property owners in se areas and has requested information from service providers concerning services currently provided. Utilizing this information, City staff must accomplish the following steps: 1. On or before June 20, City staff must complete an inventory of services currently being provided in the areas under consideration and make the inventory available for public inspection. 2. On or before September 17, the City Council must hold two (2) public hearings concerning the annexation. A proposed service plan must be available for inspection at each of the public hearings. 3. Following the two public hearings, the Tarrant County Commissioners Court must appoint a five-person committee to negotiate a service plan with the City. Key dates are as follows: • Spring 2004 — Deadline for preparation of final service plan. • The full purpose annexation ordinance must be approved by City Council within a thirty (30) day period commencing October 29, 2005. If additional information is needed, please contact Marcella Olson, Deputy City Attorney, at (817) 871-7631. '` W Jackson 0ty nager ISSUED BY THE CITY MANAGER FORT WORTH, 'TEXAS FORT WORTH DATE: May 30, 2003 TO: Gary Jackson, City Manager FROM: Marcella Olson, Deputy City Attorney RE: Full purpose annexation of 287 and Eagle Mountain areas C: Bob Riley,Development Director Cathy Davidson, Development Coordinator David Yett, City Attorney Reid Rector, Assistant City Manager The City began the process to annex approximately 9,000 acres in the vicinity of U.S. Hwy. 287 and Eagle Mountain Lake for full purposes by including the areas in the City's annexation plan on October 29, 2002. As discussed below, the City annexed these areas for limited purposes in December, 2002, and January, 2003. Maps showing the two areas o are attached. State law requires the City to complete the full purpose annexation between October 29, 2005 and November 28, 2005, and establishes deadlines for the City to take certain actions leading up to the full purpose annexation. The purpose of this memorandum is to provide the City Manager and the City Council with background on this matter and to describe the actions City staff and the City Council must take during the next few months to comply with the full purpose annexation process established by state law. Background In spring, 2002, City staff presented information to the City Council concerning approximately 55 square miles in the City's extraterritorial jurisdiction that satisfy criteria for annexation listed in the City's annexation policy. After studying the costs and benefits of annexation and conducting several public meetings, the City Council made the decision to reduce the size of the area to be considered for annexation and to pursue limited purpose annexation, rather than full purpose annexation. The differences between full purpose and limited purpose annexation are discussed later in this memorandum. The City Council began the limited purpose annexation process by adopting a schedule on August 27, 2002 to consider annexing 1,920 acres in the Eagle Mountain Lake area and 13,065 acres in the U.S. Hwy. 287 area for limited purposes. The City Council conducted the first of two required public hearings on October 1, 2002. After receiving 05-30-03A09 : 33 RCVD public input, the City Council directed City staff to present an alternate proposal reducing the annexation areas. At the second public hearing on October 15, 2002, staff presented a proposal reducing the areas to be considered for limited purpose annexation from 1,920 acres to 1,238 acres in the Eagle Mountain Lake area and from 13,065 acres to 7,744 acres in the U.S. Hwy. 287 area. The City Council annexed 1,238 acres near Eagle Mountain Lake for limited purposes on December 10, 2002. Limited purpose annexation of 7,744 acres near U.S. Hwy. 287 was also scheduled for December 10, 2002. However, a group of landowners in the 287 area filed suit on that date and obtained a temporary restraining order prohibiting the City Council from approving the annexation. The City Council continued the annexation ordinance to January 7, 2003, pending a hearing on the lawsuit. In late December, 2002, the City and the landowners reached an agreement whereby the temporary restraining order was allowed to expire and the City could go forward with the annexation. Pursuant to the agreement, the City Council approved the limited purpose annexation on January 7, 2003, and the property owners challenged the validity of the adopted annexation ordinance. The annexation was upheld after a trial in Tarrant County district court. The property owners have appealed the decision to the Texas Court of Appeals. Comparison of limited purpose and full purpose annexations Fort Worth had no authority to annex land for limited purposes until state annexation law was amended in 1999. Consequently, the only two limited purpose annexations approved to date are the 287 and Eagle Mountain annexations described above. It is anticipated that the City will receive a request for a third limited purpose annexation later this summer when the owners of Walsh Ranch submit a request for limited purpose annexation of approximately 6,800 acres. The characteristics of full purpose annexation are as follows: 1. All city ordinances are enforced. 2. The city provides services such as police, fire, emergency medical services, solid waste collection, water and sewer. Some services must be provided immediately upon annexation and others must be provided within 2 Y2 to 4 Y2 years after annexation. 3. City property taxes are assessed beginning January I of the year after annexation. 4. City sales tax is collected by businesses operating in the area. 5. Residents may hold city offices and vote in all city elections. By contrast, "limited purpose" annexation is for the limited purpose of applying municipal planning, zoning, health and safety ordinances in the area. Some of the characteristics of limited purpose annexation are the following: 1. The city may enforce its planning,zoning, health and safety ordinances, but no other city ordinances. The ordinances to be enforced by the city must be included in a regulatory plan approved by the city council when the property is annexed for limited purposes. 2. The city does not provide services to residents. Residents continue to receive services from their current service providers. 3. Property owners do not pay city property taxes. 4. City sales tax is not collected by businesses operating in the area. 5. Residents may vote in city council elections but not in bond elections. Residents are not eligible for election to city offices. 6. The city must annex the area for full purposes no later than three years after the area is annexed for limited purposes, unless the city agrees to extend the full purpose annexation date upon request of a majority of the affected property owners. Full purpose annexation procedures State law provides two procedures for full purpose annexation: • Some areas may be annexed only if they are included in a city's annexation plan. As a general rule, city-initiated annexations of areas with 100 or more separate residential dwellings must be included in the city's annexation plan. After including an area in the annexation plan, a city must wait three years to annex the area. State law requires the city to take several actions during the three-year waiting period, including sending notices to property owners, compiling information about current services, preparing a service plan describing services the city will provide in the area upon annexation, holding public hearings, and negotiating the service plan with a committee appointed by the county commissioners court. The city has 30 days to complete the annexation, beginning on the third anniversary of the date the area was added to the annexation plan. • "Exempt" annexations can be completed in approximately 90 days. The three- year waiting period does not apply. In general, annexations that are exempt from the plan requirement include those requested by a majority of the property owners and annexations of vacant, commercial, industrial or sparsely developed residential areas. Procedure for full purpose annexation of Eagle Mountain and 287 areas State law requires the City to annex the 287 and Eagle Mountain areas for full purposes within three years after they were annexed for limited purposes, unless the City and a majority of the property owners agree to extend the deadline. Because the 287 and Eagle Mountain areas currently have 100 or more separate residential dwellings or are projected to have 100 or more residential dwellings within three years, the City Council included these areas in the City's annexation plan on October 29, 2002, in order to ensure theCity has the authority to annex the areas for full purposes. State law establishes two separate three-year requirements: first, the requirement that areas annexed for limited purposes be annexed for full purposes within three years; and, second, the requirement that areas be included in the annexation plan for three years before they can be annexed. By including the 287 and Eagle Mountain areas in the annexation plan on October 29, 2002, the City can complete the full purpose annexations during November, 2005, which complies with the requirement that MI purpose annexation occur within three years after limited purpose annexation. City staff has sent notices to property owners in these areas and requested information from service providers concerning services currently being performed, as required by state law. The next steps the City must take in connection with full purpose annexation are the following: On or before June 20, City staff must complete an inventory of services currently being provided in the areas and make it available for public inspection. On or before September 17: The City Council must hold two public hearings concerning the annexation. A proposed service plan must be available for inspection at the public hearings. After the public hearings, the Tarrant County Commissioners Court will appoint a five- person committee to negotiate with the City concerning the service plan. A final service plan must be prepared by the City by spring, 2004. Either party may request arbitration within 60 days after the service plan is completed. The annexation ordinance must be approved within the 30-day period beginning October 29, 2005. If the annexation is not approved during that period, the City must wait five years to annex the areas. Conclusion This information is provided to you so that you will be aware of the annexation process as it goes forward. 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