Bill Text: IN SB0285 | 2013 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Annexation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 3-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-05-13 - Public Law 243 [SB0285 Detail]
Download: Indiana-2013-SB0285-Amended.html
Citations Affected: IC 36-9.
Synopsis: Waiver of the right to remonstrate against annexation.
Provides that if a person waives the person's right to remonstrate
against an annexation as part of an agreement with a municipality for
providing sewer service to the person's property, the waiver is not
enforceable against a successor in title to the property unless the waiver
is: (1) noted on the deed of the property; and (2) recorded in the office
of the recorder of the county in which the property is located.
Effective: July 1, 2013.
January 8, 2013, read first time and referred to Committee on Local Government.
January 24, 2013, reported favorably _ Do Pass.
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A BILL FOR AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning local
government.
(b) The works board of a municipality may contract with owners of real property for the construction of sewage works within the municipality or within four (4) miles outside its corporate boundaries in order to provide service for the area in which the real property of the owners is located. The contract must provide, for a period of not to exceed fifteen (15) years, for the payment to the owners and their assigns by any owner of real property who:
(1) did not contribute to the original cost of the sewage works; and
(2) subsequently taps into, uses, or deposits sewage or storm waters in the sewage works or any lateral sewers connected to
them;
of a fair pro rata share of the cost of the construction of the sewage
works, subject to the rules of the board and notwithstanding any other
law relating to the functions of local governmental entities. However,
the contract does not apply to any owner of real property who is not a
party to it unless it has been recorded in the office of the recorder of the
county in which the real property of the owner is located before the
owner taps into or connects to the sewers and facilities. The board may
provide that the fair pro rata share of the cost of construction includes
interest at a rate not exceeding the amount of interest allowed on
judgments, and the interest shall be computed from the date the sewage
works are approved until the date payment is made to the municipality.
(c) The contract must include, as part of the consideration running
to the municipality, the release of the right of the parties to the contract
and their successors in title to remonstrate against pending or future
annexations by the municipality of the area served by the sewage
works. Any person tapping into or connecting to the sewage works
contracted for is considered to waive his rights to remonstrate against
the annexation of the area served by the sewage works. may grant, as
part of the consideration to the municipality, a release of the right
of the person and the person's successors in title to remonstrate
against pending or future annexations by the municipality of the
area served by the sewage works.
(d) Subsection (c) does not apply to a landowner if all of the
following conditions apply:
(1) The landowner is required to connect to the sewage works
because a person other than the landowner has polluted or
contaminated the area.
(2) The costs of extension of or connection to the sewage works
are paid by a person other than the landowner or the municipality.
(e) A release of the right to remonstrate against pending or
future annexations under subsection (c):
(1) must be noted on the deed of each property affected and
recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which
the property is located; and
(2) is considered a covenant running with the land.
A release is not enforceable against a successor in title to the
property unless the requirements of this subsection are met.
(1) all the territory included within the corporate boundaries of
the municipality; and
(2) any territory, town, addition, platted subdivision, or unplatted
land lying outside the corporate boundaries of the municipality
that has been taken into the district in accordance with a prior
statute, the sewage or drainage of which discharges into or
through the sewage system of the municipality;
constitutes a special taxing district for the purpose of providing for the
sanitary disposal of the sewage of the district in a manner that protects
the public health and prevents the undue pollution of watercourses of
the district.
(b) Upon request by:
(1) a resolution adopted by the legislative body of another
municipality in the same county; or
(2) a petition of the majority of the resident freeholders in a
platted subdivision or of the owners of unplatted land outside the
boundaries of a municipality, if the platted subdivision or
unplatted land is in the same county;
the board may adopt a resolution incorporating all or any part of the
area of the municipality, platted subdivision, or unplatted land into the
district.
(c) A request under subsection (b) must be signed and certified as
correct by the secretary of the legislative body, resident freeholders, or
landowners. The original shall be preserved in the records of the board.
The resolution of the board incorporating an area in the district must be
in writing and must contain an accurate description of the area
incorporated into the district. A certified copy of the resolution, signed
by the president and secretary of the board, together with a map
showing the boundaries of the district and the location of additional
areas, shall be delivered to the auditor of the county within which the
district is located. It shall be properly indexed and kept in the
permanent records of the offices of the auditor.
(d) In addition, upon request by ten (10) or more interested resident
freeholders in a platted or unplatted territory, the board may define the
limits of an area within the county and including the property of the
freeholders that is to be considered for inclusion into the district.
Notice of the defining of the area by the board, and notice of the
location and limits of the area, shall be given by publication in
accordance with IC 5-3-1. Upon request by a majority of the resident
freeholders of the area, the area may be incorporated into the district in
the manner provided in this section. The resolution of the board
incorporating the area into the district and a map of the area shall be
made and filed in the same manner.
(e) In addition, a person owning or occupying real property outside the district may enter into a sewer service agreement with the board for connection to the sewage works of the district. If the agreement provides for connection at a later time, the date or the event upon which the service commences shall be stated in the agreement. The agreement may impose any conditions for connection that the board determines. The agreement must also provide the amount of service charge to be charged for connection if the persons are not covered under section 11 of this chapter, with the amount to be fixed by the board in its discretion and without a hearing.
(f) All sewer service agreements made under subsection (e) shall be recorded in the office of the recorder of the county where the property is located. The agreements run with the property described and are binding upon the persons owning or occupying the property, their personal representatives, heirs, devisees, grantees, successors, and assigns. Each recorded agreement that provides for the property being served to be placed on the tax rolls shall be certified by the board to the auditor of the county where the property is located. The certification must state the date the property is to be placed on the tax rolls, and upon receipt of the certification together with a copy of the agreement, the auditor shall immediately place the property certified upon the rolls of property subject to the levy and collection of taxes for the district. An agreement may provide for the collection of a service charge for the period services are rendered before the levy and collection of the tax.
(g) Except as provided in subsection
(1) neither object to nor file a remonstrance against the proposed annexation of the property by a municipality within the boundaries of the district;
(2) not appeal from an order or a judgment annexing the property to a municipality; and
(3) not file a complaint or an action against annexation proceedings.
(h) The annexation provision required in a sewer service agreement under subsection (g):
(1) must be noted on the deed of each property affected and recorded in the office of the recorder of the county in which the property is located; and
(2) is considered a covenant running with the land.
The provision is not enforceable against the executors, administrators, heirs, devisees, grantees, successors, and assigns of a party to the agreement unless the requirements of this subsection are met.
(1) The landowner is required to connect to a sewer service because a person other than the landowner has polluted or contaminated the area.
(2) The costs of extension of service or connection to the sewer service are paid by a person other than the landowner or the municipality.
