Maryland Corporations - Municipal Section 19
§ 19.
(a) The legislative body, by whatever name known, of every municipal corporation in this State may enlarge its corporate boundaries as provided in this subheading; but this power shall apply only to land:
(1) Which is contiguous and adjoining to the existing corporate area; and
(2) Which does not create any unincorporated area which is bounded on all sides by real property presently within the corporate limits of the municipality, real property proposed to be within the corporate limits of the municipality as a result of the proposed annexation, or any combination of such properties.
(b) (1) The proposal for change may be initiated by resolution regularly introduced into the legislative body of the municipal corporation, in accordance with the usual requirements and practices applicable to its legislative enactments, and also in conformity with the several requirements contained in subsections (b) and (c) of § 13 of this subtitle, but only after the legislative body has obtained the consent for the proposal from not less than 25 percent of the persons who reside in the area to be annexed and who are registered as voters in county elections and from the owners of not less than 25 percent of the assessed valuation of the real property located in the area to be annexed. The resolution shall describe by a survey of courses and distances, and may also describe by landmarks and other well-known terms, the exact area proposed to be included in the change, and shall contain complete and detailed provisions as to the conditions and circumstances applicable to the change in boundaries and to the residents and property within the area to be annexed.
(2) (i) The requirements of paragraph (1) for consent of resident voters and property owners do not apply if on or before January 1, 1983 the property to be annexed is:
1. Bounded on all sides by real property presently within the corporate limits of the municipality, and the entire area is to be included in the same annexation;
2. The size of the area does not exceed 1.5 percent of the present area of the municipal corporation; and
3. The number of residents in the area does not exceed 1 percent of the population of the municipal corporation.
(ii) A resolution of annexation under this paragraph is not subject to the referendum provisions of subsection (f) of this section.
(iii) The provisions of this paragraph shall be of no effect and may not be exercised after June 30, 1984.
(c) The proposal for change also may be initiated by a written petition signed by not less than twenty-five per centum (25%) of the persons who reside in the area to be annexed and who are registered as voters in county elections in the precinct or precincts in which the territory to be annexed is located, and by the owners of not less than twenty-five per centum (25%) of the assessed valuation of the real property located in the area to be annexed. Upon the presentation of a petition to the legislative body of the municipal corporation, the presiding officer thereof shall cause to be made a verification of the signatures thereon and shall ascertain that the persons signing the petition represent at least twenty-five per centum (25%) of the persons who reside in the area to be annexed and who are registered as voters in county elections in the precinct or precincts in which the territory to be annexed is located, and the owners of twenty-five per centum (25%) of the assessed valuation of the real property located in the area to be annexed. Upon verifying that the requirements of this subsection have been complied with, the presiding officer of the legislative body shall promptly cause to be introduced therein a resolution proposing the change of boundaries as requested by the petition. The resolution in form and content shall conform to the requirements of this section.
(d) After the introduction of the resolution into the legislative body of the municipal corporation, the chief executive and administrative officer of the municipal corporation shall cause a public notice thereof to be published not fewer than four times or, if the total area of the proposed annexation is for 25 acres of land or less, not fewer than two times, at not less than weekly intervals in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in the municipal corporation and the area to be annexed, briefly and accurately describing the proposed change and the conditions and circumstances applicable. The public notices shall specify a time and place at which a public hearing will be held by the legislative body on the resolution; the hearing shall be set for not less than 15 days after the fourth publication of the notices or, if the total area of the proposed annexation is for 25 acres of land or less, not less than 15 days after the second publication of the notices, and shall be held either within the boundaries of the municipal corporation or within the area to be annexed. The public hearing may be continued or rescheduled for a subsequent time not to exceed 30 days from the day for which the meeting was originally scheduled, or the day on which the hearing commenced but was not completed. In the event of a continuation or rescheduling, a single public notice shall be given at least seven days prior to the continued or rescheduled date in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipal corporation and in the area whose annexation is to be discussed, briefly and accurately describing the property whose annexation is to be discussed, and specifying the day, time, and place of the public hearing. Immediately upon the first publication of the public notice, a copy of the public notice shall be provided to the governing body of the county and any regional and State planning agencies having jurisdiction within the county. Each of these agencies and jurisdictions shall have the first right to be heard at the scheduled public hearing, after which the hearing shall be open to the general public.
(e) Following the public hearing, the legislative body may proceed to enact the resolution, in accordance with the usual requirements and practices applicable to its legislative enactments. The resolution shall not become effective until at least forty-five (45) days following its final enactment.
(f) At any time within the 45 day period following the final enactment of the resolution, a number of persons equal to not less than 20 percent of the persons who reside in the area to be annexed and who are registered as voters in county elections in the precinct or precincts in which the territory to be annexed is located may, in writing, petition the chief executive and administrative officer of the municipal corporation for a referendum on the resolution. Upon the presentation of a petition to the officer, he shall cause to be made a verification of the signatures thereon and shall ascertain that the persons signing the petition represent at least 20 percent of the persons who reside in the area to be annexed and who are registered as voters in county elections in the precinct or precincts in which the territory to be annexed is located. Upon verifying that the requirements of this subsection have been complied with, the officer shall by proclamation suspend the effectiveness of the resolution, contingent upon the results of the referendum.
(g) At any time within the forty-five (45) day period following the final enactment of the resolution, a number of persons equal to not less than twenty per centum (20%) of the qualified voters of the municipal corporation may, in writing, petition the chief executive and administrative officer of the municipal corporation for a referendum on the resolution. Upon the presentation of a petition to the officer, he shall cause to be made a verification of the signatures thereon and shall ascertain that the persons signing the petition represent at least twenty per centum (20%) of the qualified voters of the municipal corporation. Upon verifying that the requirements of this subsection have been complied with, the officer shall by proclamation suspend the effectiveness of the resolution, contingent upon the results of the referendum.
(h) At any time within the 45-day period following the final enactment of the resolution, the governing body of the county or counties in which the municipality is located, by at least a two-thirds majority vote, may petition in writing the chief executive and administrative officer of the municipal corporation for a referendum on the resolution. Upon verifying that there has been compliance with the requirements of this subsection, the officer by proclamation shall suspend the effectiveness of the resolution, contingent upon the results of the referendum.
(i) The chief executive and administrative officer of the city, town or village shall set a date for the referendum on the ordinance or resolution, which shall be not less than fifteen (15) days and not more than ninety (90) days from the publication of notices therefor. Such notices shall be published twice at not less than weekly intervals in a newspaper or newspapers of general circulation in the municipal corporation and the area to be annexed. The notices shall specify the time and place or places at which the referendum will be held; the place or places shall be within the limits of the area to be annexed for the referendum within that area, and shall be within the limits of the municipal corporation for the referendum in this latter place.
(j) On the date and at the places specified, the resolution proposing a change in the corporate boundaries of the municipal corporation shall be submitted to a referendum election of the qualified voters of the municipal corporation or of the persons who reside in the area to be annexed and who are registered as voters in county elections in the precinct or precincts in which the territory to be annexed is located, or both, depending upon whether a petition for referendum has been presented by the residents of the municipal corporation, or by the residents of the area proposed to be annexed or by both such sets of residents. The petition for referendum presented by the governing body of the county shall be acted upon in the same manner as a petition for referendum presented by the residents of the area proposed to be annexed. The ballots or the voting machines, as the case may be, shall contain a summary of the resolution, with suitable provision for the voter to indicate a choice for or against it.
(k) For the purposes of this section, in any instance in which there are fewer than twenty persons living in any area proposed to be annexed who are eligible to sign a petition and to participate in a referendum election under the provisions of this section, any person owning real property in the area proposed to be annexed (the word "person" here including an association, the two or more joint owners of jointly-owned property, a firm or corporation) shall have a right equal to that of a natural person to sign a petition or to participate in a referendum election.
(l) If only one petition for a referendum is filed and if a majority of the persons voting on the question in that referendum shall vote in favor of the proposal for change, the change shall become effective as proposed on the fourteenth day following the referendum. If two petitions for referendum are filed, the votes cast for the two referenda shall be tabulated separately, so as to show individually the tabulation of votes cast in the municipal corporation and in the area to be annexed. If in both tabulations, each being reckoned separately, a majority of the persons voting on the question shall vote in favor of the proposal for change, the change shall become effective as proposed on the fourteenth day following the referendum. In the event there are two referenda, unless there is such a favorable majority in both tabulations, reckoned separately, the proposal for change shall be void and of no further effect whatsoever.
(m) The provisions of this section shall authorize an increase in the area within any municipal corporation only as to land which is not then within the corporate limits of any other municipal corporation.
(n) The resolution to add to the corporate boundaries of a municipal corporation shall provide generally that the persons residing in the area to be annexed, and their property, shall be added to the corporate boundaries, generally subject or not subject, as the case may be, to the provisions of the charter of the municipal corporation; except that for stated periods and under specific conditions provision may be made for special treatment of the residents and property in the area to be annexed, as to rates of municipal taxation and as to municipal services and facilities. No change shall be made in these provisions for special treatment for stated periods and under specific conditions, except by resolution enacted in accordance with the provisions and requirements of this section.
(o) In addition to, but not as a part of the resolution, the legislative body of the municipal corporation shall provide also a proposed outline for the extension of services and public facilities into the area proposed to be annexed. The outline shall be open to public review and discussion at the public hearing, but amendments to the outline may not be construed in any way as an amendment to the resolution, nor may they serve in any manner to cause a reinitiation of the annexation procedure then in process. A copy of the outline shall be provided to the governing body of the county or counties in which the municipal corporation is located and any regional and State planning agencies having jurisdictions within the county at least 30 days prior to the holding of the public hearing required by this section. The outline shall contain a description of the land use pattern proposed for the area to be annexed, which may include any county master plan already in effect for the area. It shall be presented so as to demonstrate the available land for public facilities which may be considered reasonably to be necessitated by the proposed use, such as school sites, water or sewerage treatment facilities, libraries, recreation, fire or police. It shall contain also a statement describing the schedule for extending to the area to be annexed each municipal service performed within the municipality at the time of annexation and a statement as to the general methods by which the municipality anticipates to finance the extension of municipal services into the area to be annexed.
(p) The chief executive and administrative officer of a municipal corporation which has enlarged its corporate boundaries under the provisions of this section shall promptly send the annexation resolution with the new boundaries to the clerk or similar official, to the clerk of the court in the county or counties in which the municipal corporation is located, to the Department of Legislative Services as provided in § 9A of this article, and for those municipalities lying within the regional district, to the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Each such official shall hold the annexation resolution with the new boundaries on record and shall make it available for public inspection during all normal business hours.
(q) Repealed.
(r) The mayor and council, by whatever name known, of every municipal corporation is hereby authorized and empowered, by ordinance, resolution or regulation, to make proper provision for conducting, and for tabulating the results of any referendum to be held under the provisions of this section. The mayor and council of the municipal corporation shall pay in full for the expenses of any such referendum.
(s) The powers granted to municipal corporations by Article XI-E of the Constitution, by this article, and by Article 66B of the Code, shall not be deemed to authorize any municipal corporation, either through procedures under this subheading or other changes in its charter, to exercise planning (including subdivision control) and zoning jurisdiction or power within any political subdivision in which such planning and zoning jurisdiction or power, or either, is exercised by any State, regional or county agency or authority. Except that where any area is annexed to a municipality authorized to have and having then a planning and zoning authority, the said municipality shall have exclusive jurisdiction over planning and zoning and subdivision control within the area annexed; provided that nothing in this exception shall be construed or interpreted to grant planning and zoning authority to a municipality not authorized to exercise such authority at the time of such annexation.
