                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

ANNEXATION PROCEEDINGS FINAL FOR 10 YEARS (§ 15.2-3227)

Except by mutual agreement of the governing bodies affected, no city or town,
having instituted proceedings to annex territory of a county, shall again seek
to annex territory of such county within the 10 years next succeeding the
effective date of annexation in any proceeding under this article or previous
acts. In the event annexation is denied, such prohibition shall begin with the
date of the final order of the court denying annexation or, in the case of an
appeal to the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals, with the date of the final
order of the Supreme Court or the Court of Appeals. However, a city or town
moving to dismiss the proceedings before a hearing on its merits may file a new
petition five years after the filing of the petition in the prior suit. No
county shall, except with the consent of its governing body, be made defendant
in any annexation proceeding brought by any city within such 10-year period.
		Notwithstanding the foregoing provisions, a city shall have the right to file
and maintain an annexation proceeding against any county against which it has
not filed such a proceeding during the preceding 13 years.
		The provisions of this section shall not apply to any petition for annexation
brought by a city or town, within such 10-year period, if the previous petition
was dismissed due to a procedural defect, lack of jurisdiction, or any defense
other than the merits of the case. The provisions of this section shall not
apply to a city or town that institutes an annexation proceeding by filing
notice with the Commission on Local Government but which subsequently fails to
petition the court to grant such annexation. In that event, however, the city or
town shall not again institute proceedings for annexation against the county for
at least two years after the date the Commission renders its final report on the
initial proceeding.
		This section shall also apply to any city that was a town at the time of the
filing of such petition.

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 15-152.25; 1952, c. 328; 1958, c. 378; 1962, c. 623, §
15.1-1055; 1979, c. 85; 1985, c. 478; 1997, c. 587; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 489.