Tag: Bloomington annexation

Friday: Final day of Bloomington annexation trial

Eric Reedy’s binder with the annexation fiscal plan. (May 1, 2024)
Map of annexation areas. https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1_7o1q_H6CpeK-1gdEzDTxnPk84RZQ_E&usp=sharing

The trial on the merits of Bloomington’s plan to annex two territories on the west and southwest sides of the city has completed its fourth day. Friday is the final day left on the trial calendar.

It now looks like the trial will be over by the end of the day on Friday.

The proceeding is a judicial review, which was forced by remonstrators, when they achieved the threshold of at least 51 percent of landowner signatures in Area 1A and Area 1B, but fell short of the 65 percent that would have stopped Bloomington’s annexation outright.

By the end of the day on Tuesday, when the pace of testimony from the city’s witnesses appeared to be slower than expected, judge Nathan Nikirk raised the specter of a Saturday session. Continue reading “Friday: Final day of Bloomington annexation trial” →

March 15: Oral arguments on Bloomington’s constitutional challenge to 2019 annexation law

Remonstration counts for each area. 1 dot = 1 person in the 2020 census.
Lawrence county circuit court photo of special judge for Bloomington annexation lawsuit Nathan Nikirk

Next Friday (March 15) at 8:30 a.m., oral arguments will be heard on Bloomington’s constitutional challenge to a state law about annexation waivers.

It’s part of a long court process to determine how big Bloomington will be in the next few years.

The hearing will take place in Monroe County circuit court at 7th Street and College Avenue.

The state law in question was enacted in 2019. It caused annexation remonstrance waivers to expire, if they were more than 15 years old.

A remonstrance waiver is a document that some landowners signed, agreeing to give up the right to remonstrate against annexation into the city, in exchange for connection to the city sewer system.

At least on the surface, Friday’s hearing on the constitutional question involves just five of the seven areas (Area 1C, Area 2, Area 3, Area 4, and Area 5) for which Bloomington’s city council passed annexation ordinances in 2021.

But a legal thicket involving the other two areas (Area 1A and Area 1B) could have an impact on the way the constitutional case is decided.

Continue reading “March 15: Oral arguments on Bloomington’s constitutional challenge to 2019 annexation law” →

So-called ‘islands’ making strong effort against Bloomington annexations, as Jan. 6 deadline looms

From left: Patrick Ellis with the auditor’s office; and Area 3 property owners Darlene Stewart and Lisa Fitzgerald
Standing: Mark Furnish, Area 5 property owner. Seated in left of frame: Monroe County auditor Cathy Smith.
Area 4 property owner Susan Brackney.
From left: Deputy auditor Chris Muench; and Area 4 property owners Barbara Brinegar and Susan Brackney.
So-called ‘island’ annexation areas.

After Bloomington’s city council voted in late September to annex seven separate territories into the city, and the required newspaper notification was published, that started a 90-day period for property owners to remonstrate.

Remonstration means signing an official petition in opposition to annexation.

The 90-day window for submitting a signed remonstrance petition to the county auditor closes on Jan. 6.

With just a month left in the remonstrance period, the possible outcome for remonstration efforts in some of the annexation areas is starting to come into better focus.

Organizers of efforts to collect signatures in the three so-called ‘island’ annexation areas submitted a big pile of signatures to the county auditor this past week.

Signatures from other areas have also been coming in. Across all annexation areas a total of around 1,700 remonstrance signatures have been submitted so far, according to the county auditor’s office.

Each annexation area has its own remonstrance process. Remonstration could succeed in one area, stopping the annexation of that single area, but fail in a different area, allowing the annexation of the different area.

The picture is not yet clear for any of the annexation areas. And it will probably stay blurry until after the Jan. 6 deadline is past. Continue reading “So-called ‘islands’ making strong effort against Bloomington annexations, as Jan. 6 deadline looms” →

Cost for flyer against annexation reimbursed, Monroe County commissioners announce official opposition to Bloomington’s plan

Monroe County commissioner Lee Jones (Aug. 1, 2021).
Monroe County commissioner Julie Thomas (Aug. 1, 2021).
Monroe County commissioner Penny Githens (Aug. 1, 2021).
Claims record showing payment and reimbursement of printing cost.

Monroe County’s three county commissioners have made a joint statement opposing Bloomington’s annexation plan for all eight proposed areas.

The announcement came near the start of the board’s regular Wednesday meeting, after several weeks of remarks in public settings that indicated their individual opposition to Bloomington’s annexation proposal.

With Wednesday’s joint statement, the county commissioners as a group are opposed to annexation.

A few weeks ago, the formally and publicly established position of the board—that the body was opposed to annexation—was a missing element.

That’s when county attorney Jeff Cockerill concluded it had been inappropriate for county commissioners to have spent $300 of county money, to print a flyer that included a viewpoint opposing annexation.

It was in late June when commissioners paid for the informational flyer out of county funds. The $300 was reimbursed a week later, by Julie Thomas, president of county board.

Last month, the question of the county board’s formal position on Bloomington’s proposed annexation led to some brief discussion on rental property inspection programs, at a meeting of the county’s affordable housing advisory commission.

Continue reading “Cost for flyer against annexation reimbursed, Monroe County commissioners announce official opposition to Bloomington’s plan” →

State law OK’d in 2015 might curb future Bloomington expansion, if current annexation proposals are approved

A work session held by Bloomington’s city council on Friday at noon highlighted a fact about Indiana’s current annexation law, which has a potential impact that does not seem to be widely understood.

A 2015 amendment to the state statute on annexation looks like it gives a city exactly one more chance to expand along any segment of its boundary. After that, the annexed area forms a kind of wall to future annexation. It’s not possible to add another layer right on top of that one expansion.

In more technical terms, if a city completes an annexation after June 30, 2015, the annexed territory cannot be considered as part of the city, when it comes to a future determination about whether some additional territory shares enough of the city boundary that it can be annexed—unless that future annexation is voluntary. Continue reading “State law OK’d in 2015 might curb future Bloomington expansion, if current annexation proposals are approved” →

Analysis: Most Bloomington annexation remonstrance waivers not valid under 2019 law, population density unevenly spread

Annexation areas with parcels having waivers of any date indicated with darker colors.
Annexation areas with parcels having waivers of any date indicated with darker colors.
Annexation over-layed with 2010 population density. Population density map is Copyright, 2013, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia (Dustin A. Cable, creator)
Annexation over-layed with 2010 population density. Population density map is Copyright, 2013, Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service, Rector and Visitors of the University of Virginia (Dustin A. Cable, creator)

On Aug. 4, starting at 3 p.m. a public hearing will be held by Bloomington’s city council on eight separate annexation ordinances.

If all eight areas were annexed, more than 9,000 acres and 14,000 people would be added to the city of Bloomington.

In the lead-up to the Aug. 4 hearing, three public meetings have been held to present the findings of a financial consultant, hired by Monroe County commissioners to review the city of Bloomington’s fiscal plan for its proposed annexations of territory.

On those three occasions, much of the energy in the room addressed questions about the process for stopping Bloomington’s annexation plans. And many of those questions have centered on the status of remonstrance waivers.

Key to the formal remonstrance process are waivers that might be associated with a parcel. Some parcels have waivers attached. Others don’t.

How many of the waivers are valid? What’s the geographic distribution of parcels that have a waiver? How do parcels with waivers square up with population density?

First, a short answer: The majority of remonstrance waivers look like they’re too old to count under a 2019 law. That means a petition signature from a property owner will likely count under the 2019 law, even if there’s a waiver attached.

Another short answer: The geographic distribution of waivers is uneven, and does not necessarily line up with the measured population density from the 2010 US Census.

Continue reading “Analysis: Most Bloomington annexation remonstrance waivers not valid under 2019 law, population density unevenly spread” →

Analysis | A first look at remonstrance waivers: Numerical impact of new law not yet measured for Bloomington’s annexation effort

July is the last full month of summer before Monroe County Community School classes start on Aug. 4.

The darker shades of color indicate parcels with a remonstrance waiver of any date. Image links to a .pdf file with the image in vector graphic form.

The first day of school this year is also the date of a public hearing on Bloomington’s planned annexation of territory into the city.

The annexation of eight separate areas, each with its own parallel annexation process, would add more than 9,000 acres to Bloomington’s land area and about 14,000 new residents to its population.

With a public hearing on the horizon, and Bloomington city council votes expected in September, legal questions about remonstration waivers could come into sharper focus sooner than the time when the formal remonstration process would start.

Waivers are legal documents signed by a property owner giving up the right to remonstrate against annexation, in consideration of the ability to purchase utilities service from the city.

The key question is: Which waivers are valid? Indiana’s state legislature enacted a law in 2019 that voids any remonstration waiver signed before July 1, 2003.  The city of Bloomington says it is proceeding as if the older waivers are valid.

A formal remonstration process would start only after the city council voted to enact the annexation ordinance for a particular area. Continue reading “Analysis | A first look at remonstrance waivers: Numerical impact of new law not yet measured for Bloomington’s annexation effort” →