Negotiating a Successful Annexation Agreement

Abstract

The boundaries of American cities can resemble shifting sand dunes. New cities spring up, a few disappear, and others join forces. But more often, cities simply expand as their residents spill over into the suburbs and beyond into rural counties, outrunning municipal services. Although there are a number of methods of adjusting boundaries,¹ cities generally change them by annexing land within the unincorporated area of the surrounding county.² Consequently, annexation is a prolific source of controversy, caused by the conflict among the rural residents' right of autonomy, the municipality's desire to control the quality of development at the urban fringe, and the city residents' right to ensure that rural residents pay their fair share of the cost of municipal services. In addition, counties that view themselves capable of providing for urban population often will compete for the benefits of the unincorporated territory and often will fight a city's efforts to annex land.