{"formats":[{"name":"JSON","format":"json","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-json\/15.2-3234.json"},{"name":"Plain Text","format":"text","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-text\/15.2-3234.txt"},{"name":"XML","format":"xml","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-xml\/15.2-3234.xml"},{"name":"HTML","format":"html","url":"\/downloads\/2025\/code-html\/15.2-3234.html"}],"law_id":85891,"edition_id":1,"section_id":85891,"structure_id":15961,"section_number":"15.2-3234","catch_line":"Inability to agree; petition to Commission on Local Government","history":"1979, c. 85, \u00a7 15.1-1058.4; 1997, c. 587.","full_text":"In the event the governing bodies of the town and county cannot reach a voluntary agreement as to future annexation rights, the town may, by ordinance duly adopted by a majority vote of its governing body, petition the Commission on Local Government for an order establishing the rights of the town to annex territory by ordinance under specified agreed terms. A copy of such petition and ordinance shall be served on the attorney for the Commonwealth, or county attorney, if there is one, and on the chairman of the board of supervisors of the county. The county shall file its response to such petition with the Commission within sixty days after receipt of service thereof.\n\t\tAfter the time for filing of a response by the county has elapsed, the Commission shall establish a date, time and place for a hearing, to be conducted in the county or the town, at which the parties, and any resident or property owner of either the county or the town may appear and present evidence or comment on the rights petitioned for by the town. After receiving such evidence, and making such further investigation as it deems appropriate, and based upon the criteria set forth in \u00a7 15.2-3209, the Commission shall enter an order which grants such rights to the town, either upon the terms set forth in the petition or upon some modified basis. The order shall in no event grant to the town the right to annex county territory by ordinance more frequently than once every five years.","order_by":null,"text":{"0":{"id":307658,"text":"In the event the governing bodies of the town and county cannot reach a voluntary agreement as to future annexation rights, the town may, by ordinance duly adopted by a majority vote of its governing body, petition the Commission on Local Government for an order establishing the rights of the town to annex territory by ordinance under specified agreed terms. A copy of such petition and ordinance shall be served on the attorney for the Commonwealth, or county attorney, if there is one, and on the chairman of the board of supervisors of the county. The county shall file its response to such petition with the Commission within sixty days after receipt of service thereof.\n\t\tAfter the time for filing of a response by the county has elapsed, the Commission shall establish a date, time and place for a hearing, to be conducted in the county or the town, at which the parties, and any resident or property owner of either the county or the town may appear and present evidence or comment on the rights petitioned for by the town. After receiving such evidence, and making such further investigation as it deems appropriate, and based upon the criteria set forth in \u00a7 15.2-3209, the Commission shall enter an order which grants such rights to the town, either upon the terms set forth in the petition or upon some modified basis. The order shall in no event grant to the town the right to annex county territory by ordinance more frequently than once every five years.","type":"section","prefixes":[""],"prefix":"","entire_prefix":"","prefix_anchor":"","level":1}},"ancestry":[{"id":15961,"edition_id":1,"name":"Agreements Defining Annexation Rights","identifier":"2","label":"article","depth":4,"order_by":1,"parent_id":14196,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 04:02:44","date_modified":"2026-06-26 04:02:44","permalink":{"id":157155,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":15961,"identifier":"2","token":"15.2\/III\/32\/2","url":"\/15.2\/III\/32\/2\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1}},{"id":14196,"edition_id":1,"name":"Boundary Changes of Towns and Cities","identifier":"32","label":"chapter","depth":3,"order_by":1,"parent_id":13062,"metadata":{},"date_created":"2026-06-26 03:47:14","date_modified":"2026-06-26 03:47:14","permalink":{"id":157027,"object_type":"structure","relational_id":14196,"identifier":"32","token":"15.2\/III\/32","url":"\/15.2\/III\/32\/","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":62162,"structure_id":15961,"section_number":"15.2-3231","catch_line":"Agreements between towns and counties authorized; effect; provisions","url":"\/15.2-3231\/","token":"15.2\/III\/32\/2\/15.2-3231","metadata":false},{"id":69662,"structure_id":15961,"section_number":"15.2-3232","catch_line":"Hearing before Commission on Local Government required; notice","url":"\/15.2-3232\/","token":"15.2\/III\/32\/2\/15.2-3232","metadata":false},{"id":63516,"structure_id":15961,"section_number":"15.2-3233","catch_line":"Adoption of agreement","url":"\/15.2-3233\/","token":"15.2\/III\/32\/2\/15.2-3233","metadata":false},{"id":85891,"structure_id":15961,"section_number":"15.2-3234","catch_line":"Inability to agree; petition to Commission on Local Government","url":"\/15.2-3234\/","token":"15.2\/III\/32\/2\/15.2-3234","metadata":false},{"id":79777,"structure_id":15961,"section_number":"15.2-3235","catch_line":"Appeal","url":"\/15.2-3235\/","token":"15.2\/III\/32\/2\/15.2-3235","metadata":false}],"previous_section":{"id":63516,"structure_id":15961,"section_number":"15.2-3233","catch_line":"Adoption of agreement","url":"\/15.2-3233\/","token":"15.2\/III\/32\/2\/15.2-3233","metadata":false},"next_section":{"id":79777,"structure_id":15961,"section_number":"15.2-3235","catch_line":"Appeal","url":"\/15.2-3235\/","token":"15.2\/III\/32\/2\/15.2-3235","metadata":false},"metadata":false,"official_url":"https:\/\/law.lis.virginia.gov\/vacode\/15.2-3234\/","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":82850,"section_number":"15.2-3209","catch_line":"Hearing and decision","order_by":null,"url":"\/15.2-3209\/"}],"permalink":{"id":157169,"object_type":"law","relational_id":85891,"identifier":"15.2-3234","token":"15.2\/III\/32\/2\/15.2-3234","url":"\/15.2-3234\/","edition_id":1,"permalink":0,"preferred":1},"url":"\/15.2-3234\/","token":"15.2\/III\/32\/2\/15.2-3234","dublin_core":{"Title":"Inability to agree; petition to Commission on Local Government","Type":"Text","Format":"text\/html","Identifier":"\u00a7 15.2-3234","Relation":"Code of Virginia"},"html":"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t

In the event the governing bodies of the town<\/span> and county<\/span> cannot reach a voluntary agreement as to future annexation rights, the town<\/span> may, by ordinance<\/span> duly adopted by a majority vote of its governing body<\/span>, petition<\/span> the Commission on Local Government<\/span> for an order<\/span> establishing the rights of the town<\/span> to annex territory by ordinance<\/span> under specified agreed terms. A copy of such petition<\/span> and ordinance<\/span> shall be served on the attorney for the Commonwealth, or county<\/span> attorney, if there is one, and on the chairman of the board of supervisors<\/span> of the county<\/span>. The county<\/span> shall file its response to such petition<\/span> with the Commission within sixty days after receipt of service thereof.\n\t\tAfter the time for filing of a response by the county<\/span> has elapsed, the Commission shall establish a date, time and place for a hearing<\/span>, to be conducted in the county<\/span> or the town<\/span>, at which the parties, and any resident or property owner of either the county<\/span> or the town<\/span> may appear and present evidence<\/span> or comment on the rights petitioned for by the town<\/span>. After receiving such evidence<\/span>, and making such further investigation as it deems appropriate, and based upon the criteria set forth in \u00a7 15.2-3209<\/a>, the Commission shall enter an order<\/span> which grants such rights to the town<\/span>, either upon the terms set forth in the petition<\/span> or upon some modified basis. The order<\/span> shall in no event grant to the town<\/span> the right to annex county<\/span> territory by ordinance<\/span> more frequently than once every five years.<\/p><\/section>","plain_text":" CODE OF VIRGINIA\n\nINABILITY TO AGREE; PETITION TO COMMISSION ON LOCAL GOVERNMENT (\u00a7 15.2-3234)\n\nIn the event the governing bodies of the town and county cannot reach a\nvoluntary agreement as to future annexation rights, the town may, by ordinance\nduly adopted by a majority vote of its governing body, petition the Commission\non Local Government for an order establishing the rights of the town to annex\nterritory by ordinance under specified agreed terms. A copy of such petition and\nordinance shall be served on the attorney for the Commonwealth, or county\nattorney, if there is one, and on the chairman of the board of supervisors of\nthe county. The county shall file its response to such petition with the\nCommission within sixty days after receipt of service thereof.\n\t\tAfter the time for filing of a response by the county has elapsed, the\nCommission shall establish a date, time and place for a hearing, to be conducted\nin the county or the town, at which the parties, and any resident or property\nowner of either the county or the town may appear and present evidence or\ncomment on the rights petitioned for by the town. After receiving such evidence,\nand making such further investigation as it deems appropriate, and based upon\nthe criteria set forth in \u00a7 15.2-3209, the Commission shall enter an order\nwhich grants such rights to the town, either upon the terms set forth in the\npetition or upon some modified basis. The order shall in no event grant to the\ntown the right to annex county territory by ordinance more frequently than once\nevery five years.\n\nHISTORY: 1979, c. 85, \u00a7 15.1-1058.4; 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}}