AN ACT to authorize the extension of municipal service districts to areas not contiguous to the service district.

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

SECTION 1.  G.S. 160A‑538 reads as rewritten:

§ 160A‑538.  Extension of service districts.

(a)        Standards. – The city council may by ordinance annex territory to any service district upon finding that:

(1)        The area to be annexed is contiguous to the district, with at least one eighth of the area's aggregate external boundary coincident with the existing boundary of the district;district.

(2)        That the The area to be annexed requires the services of the district.

(b)        Annexation by Petition. – The city council may also by ordinance extend by annexation the boundaries of any service district when one hundred percent (100%) of the real property owners of the area to be annexed have petitioned the council for annexation to the service district.

(b1)      Satellite Annexation. – The city council may also by ordinance annex noncontiguous territory to any service district, provided all of the following criteria are met:

(1)        One hundred percent (100%) of the real property owners of the area to be annexed have petitioned the council for annexation to the district.

(2)        The nearest point on the proposed satellite area must not be more than 1,000 feet from the boundary of the district.

(3)        The area must be so situated that the district will be able to provide the same services within the proposed satellite area that it provides within the district.

(4)        If the area proposed for annexation, or any portion thereof, is a subdivision as defined in G.S. 160D‑102(31), all of the subdivision must be included.

(5)        The proposed satellite area, when added to the area within all other satellite areas of the district, may not exceed ten percent (10%) of the area within the primary boundary of the district.

(c)        Report. – Before the public hearing required by subsection (d), the council shall cause to be prepared a report containing:containing all of the following:

(1)        A map of the service district and the adjacent territory, showing the present and proposed boundaries of the district;district.

(2)        A statement showing that the area to be annexed meets the standards and requirements of subsections (a) or (b); andsubsection (a), (b), or (b1) of this section.

(3)        A plan for extending services to the area to be annexed.

The report shall be available for public inspection in the office of the city clerk for at least two weeks before the date of the public hearing.

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SECTION 2.  This act is effective when it becomes law.