{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/15.2-3109.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/15.2-3109.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/15.2-3109.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/15.2-3109.html"}],"law_id":80738,"edition_id":1,"section_id":80738,"structure_id":14781,"section_number":"15.2-3109","catch_line":"Court-ordered adjustment of boundary lines","history":"1979, c. 85, \u00a7 15.1-1031.4; 1997, c. 587.","full_text":"A\n\nWhenever any two localities have agreed that a change should be made to their common boundary line so that public services in an area may be provided more effectively and more efficiently, but are unable to agree as to the proper location for the new boundary line, their governing bodies may petition jointly either of the circuit courts for their respective localities for an order establishing the new boundary line within the terms of the petition. The court shall refer the petition to the Commission on Local Government, and shall also certify the filing of the petition to the Supreme Court with a request that a three-judge court be convened pursuant to § 15.2-3000 to decide the matter. The Commission shall conduct a hearing to receive evidence concerning the location of the new boundary line. Any interested persons may present evidence. The Commission shall publish notice of its hearing at least once a week for two successive weeks in newspapers of general circulation in each locality. Based upon the evidence and the report of its staff, the Commission shall determine a new boundary line that best promotes the more effective and efficient provision of public services. The Commission shall transmit its findings to the court in writing, where they shall be received in evidence. The court shall hear evidence with respect to relocating the boundary line and shall enter an order establishing the new boundary line so as to promote, to the extent possible, the more effective and more efficient provision of public services. Such order shall set forth the terms for the transfer of territory and shall be recorded in the common-law order book and in the current deed book for both localities’ courts and indexed in the name of the localities as the case may be. A certified copy of the order shall be sent to the Secretary of the Commonwealth by the clerk of the circuit court.B\n\nNotice of any application as provided in subsection A hereof shall be served upon the property owners, if any, of the area affected by the agreement, and if such property owners object to the change, they shall be permitted to intervene in the proceedings and show cause why the boundary line should not be changed.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":289420,"text":"Whenever any two localities have agreed that a change should be made to their common boundary line so that public services in an area may be provided more effectively and more efficiently, but are unable to agree as to the proper location for the new boundary line, their governing bodies may petition jointly either of the circuit courts for their respective localities for an order establishing the new boundary line within the terms of the petition. The court shall refer the petition to the Commission on Local Government, and shall also certify the filing of the petition to the Supreme Court with a request that a three-judge court be convened pursuant to § 15.2-3000 to decide the matter. The Commission shall conduct a hearing to receive evidence concerning the location of the new boundary line. Any interested persons may present evidence. The Commission shall publish notice of its hearing at least once a week for two successive weeks in newspapers of general circulation in each locality. Based upon the evidence and the report of its staff, the Commission shall determine a new boundary line that best promotes the more effective and efficient provision of public services. The Commission shall transmit its findings to the court in writing, where they shall be received in evidence. The court shall hear evidence with respect to relocating the boundary line and shall enter an order establishing the new boundary line so as to promote, to the extent possible, the more effective and more efficient provision of public services. Such order shall set forth the terms for the transfer of territory and shall be recorded in the common-law order book and in the current deed book for both localities’ courts and indexed in the name of the localities as the case may be. A certified copy of the order shall be sent to the Secretary of the Commonwealth by the clerk of the circuit court.","type":"section","prefixes":["A"],"prefix":"A","entire_prefix":"A","prefix_anchor":"A","level":1,"next_prefix":"B"},"1":{"id":289421,"text":"Notice of any application as provided in subsection A hereof shall be served upon the property owners, if any, of the area affected by the agreement, and if such property owners object to the change, they shall be permitted to intervene in the proceedings and show cause why the boundary line should not be changed.","type":"section","prefixes":["B"],"prefix":"B","entire_prefix":"B","prefix_anchor":"B","level":1,"prior_prefix":"A"}},"ancestry":[{"id":14781,"edition_id":1,"name":"Relocation or Change, by Agreement, of Boundary Line Between Localities; Adjustment by Court","identifier":"2","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":14780,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:49:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:49:51","permalink":{"id":157009,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14781,"identifier":"2","token":"15.2\/III\/31\/2","url":"\/15.2\/III\/31\/2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":14780,"edition_id":1,"name":"Settling Boundaries Between Localities","identifier":"31","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13062,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:49:51","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:49:51","permalink":{"id":156981,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14780,"identifier":"31","token":"15.2\/III\/31","url":"\/15.2\/III\/31\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":13062,"edition_id":1,"name":"Boundary Adjustments and Changes of Status of Counties, Cities and Towns","identifier":"III","label":"subtitle","depth":2,"order_by":1,"parent_id":12720,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:44:12","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:44:12","permalink":{"id":156919,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":13062,"identifier":"III","token":"15.2\/III","url":"\/15.2\/III\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":12720,"edition_id":1,"name":"Counties, Cities and Towns","identifier":"15.2","label":"title","depth":1,"order_by":1,"parent_id":null,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:43:49","permalink":{"id":151279,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":12720,"identifier":"15.2","token":"15.2","url":"\/15.2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}}],"structure_contents":[{"id":61623,"structure_id":14781,"section_number":"15.2-3106","catch_line":"Establishment by agreement","url":"\/15.2-3106\/","token":"15.2\/III\/31\/2\/15.2-3106","metadata":false},{"id":56558,"structure_id":14781,"section_number":"15.2-3107","catch_line":"Publication of agreed boundary line","url":"\/15.2-3107\/","token":"15.2\/III\/31\/2\/15.2-3107","metadata":false},{"id":57836,"structure_id":14781,"section_number":"15.2-3108","catch_line":"Petition and hearing; recordation of order; costs","url":"\/15.2-3108\/","token":"15.2\/III\/31\/2\/15.2-3108","metadata":false},{"id":80738,"structure_id":14781,"section_number":"15.2-3109","catch_line":"Court-ordered adjustment of boundary lines","url":"\/15.2-3109\/","token":"15.2\/III\/31\/2\/15.2-3109","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":57836,"structure_id":14781,"section_number":"15.2-3108","catch_line":"Petition and hearing; recordation of order; costs","url":"\/15.2-3108\/","token":"15.2\/III\/31\/2\/15.2-3108","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/15.2-3109\/","history_text":"

This law was first created in 1979. The record of its establishment is cataloged in chapter 85 of that year\u2019s edition of \u201cActs of Assembly,\u201d the annual state publication listing all changes made to the Code of Virginia in that year. Unfortunately, the 1979 \u201cActs\u201d aren\u2019t available online. It has been modified 1 time. Those modifications are cataloged by \u201cThe Acts of Assembly,\u201d a state publication, by year and chapter. Those modifications that can be read on the General Assembly\u2019s website will be linked accordingly. That modification is as follows: in 1997, chapter 587<\/a>.<\/p>","references":false,"refers_to":[{"id":85081,"section_number":"15.2-3000","catch_line":"Special court to hear certain cases","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-3000\/"}],"permalink":{"id":157023,"object_type":"law","relational_id":80738,"identifier":"15.2-3109","token":"15.2\/III\/31\/2\/15.2-3109","url":"\/15.2-3109\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/15.2-3109\/","token":"15.2\/III\/31\/2\/15.2-3109","dublin_core":{"Title":"Court-ordered adjustment of boundary lines","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 15.2-3109","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

A.<\/span> Whenever any two localities have agreed that a change should be made to their common boundary line so that public services in an area may be provided more effectively and more efficiently, but are unable to agree as to the proper location for the new boundary line, their governing bodies may petition<\/span> jointly either of the circuit<\/span> courts<\/span> for their respective localities for an order<\/span> establishing the new boundary line within the terms of the petition<\/span>. The court<\/span> shall refer the petition<\/span> to the Commission on Local Government<\/span>, and shall also certify the filing of the petition<\/span> to the Supreme Court<\/span> with a request that a three-judge<\/span> court<\/span> be convened pursuant to § 15.2-3000<\/a> to decide the matter. The Commission shall conduct a hearing<\/span> to receive evidence<\/span> concerning the location of the new boundary line. Any interested persons may present evidence<\/span>. The Commission shall publish notice of its hearing<\/span> at least once a week for two successive weeks in newspapers of general circulation in each locality<\/span>. Based upon the evidence<\/span> and the report of its staff, the Commission shall determine a new boundary line that best promotes the more effective and efficient provision of public services. The Commission shall transmit its findings<\/span> to the court<\/span> in writing, where they shall be received in evidence<\/span>. The court<\/span> shall hear evidence<\/span> with respect to relocating the boundary line and shall enter an order<\/span> establishing the new boundary line so as to promote, to the extent possible, the more effective and more efficient provision of public services. Such order<\/span> shall set forth the terms for the transfer of territory and shall be recorded in the common-law<\/span> order<\/span> book and in the current deed book for both localities’ courts<\/span> and indexed in the name of the localities as the case may be. A certified copy of the order<\/span> shall be sent to the Secretary of the Commonwealth by the clerk of the circuit<\/span> court<\/span>. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

B.<\/span> Notice of any application as provided in subsection A hereof shall be served upon the property owners, if any, of the area affected by the agreement, and if such property owners object<\/span> to the change, they shall be permitted to intervene in the proceedings and show cause why the boundary line should not be changed. <\/i><\/a><\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nCOURT-ORDERED ADJUSTMENT OF BOUNDARY LINES (\u00a7 15.2-3109)\n\nA. Whenever any two localities have agreed that a change should be made to their\ncommon boundary line so that public services in an area may be provided more\neffectively and more efficiently, but are unable to agree as to the proper\nlocation for the new boundary line, their governing bodies may petition jointly\neither of the circuit courts for their respective localities for an order\nestablishing the new boundary line within the terms of the petition. The court\nshall refer the petition to the Commission on Local Government, and shall also\ncertify the filing of the petition to the Supreme Court with a request that a\nthree-judge court be convened pursuant to § 15.2-3000 to decide the matter.\nThe Commission shall conduct a hearing to receive evidence concerning the\nlocation of the new boundary line. Any interested persons may present evidence.\nThe Commission shall publish notice of its hearing at least once a week for two\nsuccessive weeks in newspapers of general circulation in each locality. Based\nupon the evidence and the report of its staff, the Commission shall determine a\nnew boundary line that best promotes the more effective and efficient provision\nof public services. The Commission shall transmit its findings to the court in\nwriting, where they shall be received in evidence. The court shall hear evidence\nwith respect to relocating the boundary line and shall enter an order\nestablishing the new boundary line so as to promote, to the extent possible, the\nmore effective and more efficient provision of public services. Such order shall\nset forth the terms for the transfer of territory and shall be recorded in the\ncommon-law order book and in the current deed book for both localities’\ncourts and indexed in the name of the localities as the case may be. A certified\ncopy of the order shall be sent to the Secretary of the Commonwealth by the\nclerk of the circuit court.\n\nB. Notice of any application as provided in subsection A hereof shall be served\nupon the property owners, if any, of the area affected by the agreement, and if\nsuch property owners object to the change, they shall be permitted to intervene\nin the proceedings and show cause why the boundary line should not be changed.\n\nHISTORY: 1979, c. 85, \u00a7 15.1-1031.4; 1997, c. 587.","edition":{"id":1,"name":"2025","slug":"2025","date_created":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","date_modified":"2026-06-21 22:39:22","current":1,"order_by":1,"last_import":null}}