Effect of Annexation Upon County Owned Property or Facilities; Notice; Acquisition of Property or Facilities by Municipality

  1. Law
  2. Georgia Code
  3. Local Government
  4. Annexation of Territory
  5. General Provisions
  6. Effect of Annexation Upon County Owned Property or Facilities; Notice; Acquisition of Property or Facilities by Municipality

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  1. Upon receiving notice of a proposed annexation pursuant to Code Section 36-36-6, the county governing authority shall notify the governing authority of the municipality within five business days of receipt of such notice if any county owned public facilities are located in the area proposed to be annexed.
  2. Except as otherwise provided in this Code section, ownership and control of county owned public properties and facilities are not diminished or otherwise affected by annexation of the area in which the county owned public property or facility is located.
  3. Whenever a municipality annexes land on both sides of a county road right of way, the annexing municipality shall assume the ownership, control, care, and maintenance of such right of way unless the municipality and the county agree otherwise by joint resolution.
  4. Whenever county owned property or a county owned facility within an area annexed by a municipality is no longer usable for service to the unincorporated area of the county as a result of the annexation, the annexing municipality shall be required to acquire said property from the county governing authority under the following conditions:
    1. The annexation must be final;
    2. The county property or facility must be funded by revenues derived from the unincorporated areas of the county and must be used to provide services solely to the unincorporated areas of the county;
    3. The county adopts a resolution declaring that the property or facility is no longer usable for service to the unincorporated area of the county as a result of the annexation; and
    4. Unless otherwise provided by mutual agreement, the county shall be compensated in an amount equal to the fair market value of the property or facility which is no longer usable for service to the unincorporated area.If the county and municipality fail to agree as to the fair market value of the property or facility within 180 days following adoption of the resolution required by paragraph (3) of this subsection, the question of fair market value shall be submitted to a special master appointed by the superior court of the county in which the property or facility is located for determination of value.

(Code 1981, §36-36-7, enacted by Ga. L. 1992, p. 2592, § 3.)

Code Commission notes.

- Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 1992, "of this subsection" was inserted in the last sentence of paragraph (d)(4).

Law reviews.

- For annual survey of local government law, see 57 Mercer L. Rev. 289 (2005); and 58 Mercer L. Rev. 267 (2006). For annual survey on real property, see 66 Mercer L. Rev. 151 (2014).

JUDICIAL DECISIONS

Construction with O.C.G.A. § 36-34-5. - In a dispute concerning a city's desire to access water lines owned by a county but located in an area annexed by the city, it was determined, upon discerning the interplay between O.C.G.A. §§ 36-34-5 and36-36-7(b), that the city was not permitted access to the line in question absent compliance with one of the three methods enumerated in O.C.G.A. § 36-34-5, namely by gift, purchase, or the exercise of the right of eminent domain. Cobb County v. City of Smyrna, 270 Ga. App. 471, 606 S.E.2d 667 (2004).

Statute did not encompass easements owned by the county within city limits.

- O.C.G.A. § 36-36-7, providing for the automatic transfer of ownership of roads and rights of way from counties to new municipalities, does not encompass property interests generally and did not operate to transfer detention pond easements owned by Fulton County to the City of Sandy Springs when the city incorporated; therefore, the county was required to maintain the ponds as long as the county owned the easements. Fulton County v. City of Sandy Springs, 295 Ga. 16, 757 S.E.2d 123 (2014).

County that held an easement over a drainage system located on commercial property that was initially located in the county but was later annexed by the city had the responsibility to repair and maintain the drainage system even after the property was annexed by the city. Although the Service Delivery Agreement provided that the city would perform stormwater services within the city's boundary, the city performed repairs at the right of way, not on private property. City of Norcross v. Gwinnett County, 355 Ga. App. 662, 843 S.E.2d 31 (2020).


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