Purpose. The purpose of this section is to provide a mechanism whereby land, which is subject to annexation by the City of West Point, shall be evaluated and a zoning district be decided upon to apply said land upon the annexation becoming final.

1.

Annexation zoning process. Upon receipt of an application for annexation of property to the city, such application shall be placed on an agenda of city council meeting within sixty (60) days of the filing of such application.

(1)

Procedure for annexation, specifically. Petitioners for annexation must present to the planning director the following:

a.

A petition for annexation into the City of West Point, Georgia (which shall be in the form of a letter and include the petitioners name, mailing address, contact telephone number, and the address or tax map number of the property proposed for annexation).

b.

A legal description of the property.

c.

A survey by a licensed and registered land surveyor (which shall show, at a minimum, the extents of the property, size of acres, adjacent property owners, and the existing city limits line). Five (5) plats eighteen (18) inches by twenty-four (24) inches and one (1) eleven (11) inch by seventeen (17) inch plat shall be submitted with the application for annexation.

The city shall notify Troup or Harris County of intent to annex within the time frame specified in section 25.2 below. Upon receiving a recommendation from the planning commission, the city council may choose to proceed with annexation of the property. Upon approval of annexation of the property and placing a zoning designation with the property, the city shall submit the proposed annexation to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) for review. Upon review and favorable comment from DOJ, the annexation is officially in place.

The procedure for rezoning of the property is identical to that of a conventional rezoning except that the hearing before the council shall be conducted simultaneously to the annexation of the subject property into the city.

The zoning classification approved by the city following the hearing shall become effective on the later of:

(1)

The date the zoning is approved by the council; and

(2)

The date the annexation becomes effective pursuant to O.C.G.A. § 30-30-4.

2.

House Bill 489. All annexation into the City of West Point shall meet all of the requirements for resolution of land use conflicts as required by State House Bill 489. The following procedure has been adopted as part of this legislation:

1)

Definitions. The following definitions have been adopted specifically to carry out the procedures for this process. The implementation of any of the following definitions shall not have the effect of nullifying the implementation of any other definition.

a.

Affected local government—"The Affected"—means the county or any municipality within one thousand (1,000) feet of the property to be annexed.

b.

Bona fide land use classification objection—As it relates to this process, a bona fide land use classification objection is an objection to a proposed land use of an annexation petition which results in a substantial change in the intensity of the allowable use of the property or a change to a significantly different allowable use. Examples of bona fide land use classification impacts are: Negative effects on surrounding property, increase in traffic loads, environmental impacts, and/or additional public service needs.

c.

Comprehensive plan—Means any plan by a county or municipality covering such county or municipality proposed or prepared pursuant to the minimum standards and procedures for preparation of comprehensive plans and for implementation of comprehensive plans established by the department of community affairs.

d.

Future land use map—A required component of the comprehensive plan that shows graphically how a community wishes land uses to be designated and developed, usually over a twenty (20) year or long period.

e.

Impact—Any negative effect on a piece of land brought about by a government through an annexation.

f.

The initiator—Although not expressly defined in H.B. 489, means the county or municipality proposing annexation of property into proposing entity's jurisdictional limits.

g.

Peculiar topography or site conditions—Means topography or other features that could cause unusually significant harm due to intense and incompatible adjacent development.

h.

Significantly different allowable use—Means a use in a more intensive land use category such as:

(1)

Office/Institutional versus Residential.

(2)

Commercial versus Residential.

(3)

Industrial versus Residential.

(4)

Industrial versus Commercial.

i.

Substantial change in intensity—Substantial change in the intensity of a proposed land use shall be defined as follows:

(1)

If land use proposed is in a category of lesser impact—Not Substantial;

(2)

If land use proposed is in the same general category of impact and is an increase in density of less than or equal to twenty-five (25) percent of the adjoining land within the adjacent jurisdiction—Not Substantial;

(3)

If land use proposed is in the same general category of impact and is an increase in density of greater than twenty-five (25) percent of the adjoining land within the adjacent jurisdiction—Substantial; or

(4)

If the land use proposed is in the same general category of impact and results in a substantial change in intensity, verified by the affected party, which negatively affects surrounding property, increases traffic loads, presents environmental impacts and/or additional public service needs—Substantial.

j.

Unique development—Means development of a one-of-a-kind nature such as a sports arena, stadium, race track, amusement park, university, or other similar developments.

k.

Unusual development—Means development that is uncommon or rarely proposed for the region.

2)

Amendment. This process shall be used when a local government receives an annexation request, or initiates an annexation. An amendment as this term is used in this agreement shall not include the annexation of any unincorporated island (as that term is defined in O.C.G.A. § 36-36-90) containing fifty (50) acres or less.

3)

Notification. "The Initiator" shall notify other affected local governments of the proposed land use of an area to be annexed within five (5) business days of receipt of this request for annexation. This notification shall include all relevant data pertaining to the proposed land use of the area to be annexed.

4)

Determination/intent to object. Within thirty (30) business days after notification, "the Affected" shall make a land use compatibility determination of whether the proposed use of the area to be annexed would create a land use conflict.

The determination is first reviewed by "the Affected(s)" professional planning staff or appointee(s) in the absence of a planning staff. "The Affected(s)" planning staff or appointee(s) shall notify "The Initiator" and "the Affected(s)" governing body within fifteen (15) business days after "the Initiator" serves notification of their intent to object recommendation. The notification shall be a written recommendation based on bona fide land use classification objections.

Prior to the end of the "the Affected" review period, i.e., the thirty (30) business days, "the Affected(s)" governing body shall consider the intent to object recommendation for final action.

If "the Affected(s)" governing body confirms by an affirmative vote an objection as permitted for herein, "the Affected" shall document in writing the nature of the objection and the documentation shall be submitted to "the Initiator" prior to the end of the review period.

The absence of said notification by "the Affected" shall be construed to mean that "the Affected" does not identify land use conflicts created by the annexation and "the Initiator" may proceed with the annexation, in compliance with applicable State or local laws and ordinances.

5)

Mitigation. Representatives of "the Affected" and "the Initiator", which shall be selected by the governing bodies to act on their behalf, shall have ten (10) business days from "the Initiator's" receipt of the objections to meet and devise mitigative measures to address the specific use conflicts created by the proposed annexation. Such mitigative measures can include, but not be limited to, more restrictive development standards such as increasing buffers and/or building setbacks, building height, landscaping requirements, traffic control, storm water control, or other measures designed to mitigate conflicts resulting from adjacent land uses.

Governing bodies of "the Affected" and "the Initiator" shall approve any mitigative actions identified during the mitigation process at their next available public meeting, but no later than fifteen (15) business days after the mitigative actions are identified by local representatives.

Once "the Initiator" and "the Affected" agree that the mitigative measures are reasonable to address the specific use conflicts created by the proposed annexation then "the Initiator" shall impose said condition as prescribed in the selected mitigative measures as conditions of approval for the annexation of the property.

6)

Appeals board. If at the end of the mitigation process "the Initiator" and "the Affected" cannot agree to a resolution of the objection through mitigative measures, then the dispute shall be referred to a Board of Annexation Appeals which shall be composed of five (5) members (unless more than one (1) affected local government is involved): two (2) appointed by "the Initiator"; two (2) appointed by "the Affected", and one (1) who must be a certified AICP planning professional or a professional from the DCA mediator list approved by both "the Initiator" and "the Affected". If more than one (1) municipality qualifies as an "Affected Local Government" each "Affected" may appoint two (2) members. The Board of Annexation Appeals must be appointed no later than fifteen (15) business days after "the Initiator" and "the Affected" have failed to agree on mitigative measures. Members of the Board of Annexation Appeals may not be an elected official or staff member of the respective governing authorities that are party to this resolution process.

All cost associated with the work of the Board of Annexation Appeals shall be equally borne by the "the Initiator" and "the Affected(s)".

7)

Board decision. Within ten (10) business days of appointment, the Board of Annexation Appeals shall render its decision, which shall be in the form of one following alternative:

a.

Approve the annexation based on the land use classification proposed.

b.

Deny the annexation based on the land use classification objection.

c.

Approve the annexation based on the proposed mitigative action.

The decision of the appeals board must be acted upon by the governing bodies of "the Initiator" and "the Affected" at their next available public meeting, but not later than fifteen (15) business days after the receipt of board recommendation.

8)

Mediation. If "the Initiator" and "the Affected(s)" fail to reach an agreement on the administrative decision by the Board of Annexation Appeals, then within ten (10) business days "the Initiator" and "the Affected(s)" hereby agree to mutually select a mediator from the list maintained by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs or other mutually agreed upon source, and to undertake a mediation process in conformance with the standards and procedures established by the Georgia Planning Act. The cost and any associated expense shall be equally borne by "the Initiator" and "the Affected(s)".

The mediator shall have up to fifteen (15) business days to render its decision, which shall be in the form of one (1) of the following alternatives:

a.

Recommend acceptance of the annexation as proposed.

b.

Recommend rejection of the proposed annexation.

c.

Recommend alternatives and/or mitigation to resolve the objections to the proposed land use of the area to be annexed.

The mediator's proposal must be approved by the governing bodies of both "the Initiator" and "the Affected" at the first available public meetings for each respective body, but not later than fifteen (15) business days after the mediator's recommendations are presented.

"The Initiator" and "the Affected" hereby agree to comply with decision(s) resulting from the mediation process unless either "the Initiator" or "the Affected" chooses to seek legal remedy in a court of competent jurisdiction, which results in a different decision by the courts.

9)

Annexation proceedings. Nothing in this process shall prohibit "the Initiator" from proceeding with its annexation process subject to the final outcome of this process; however, "the Initiator" shall not finalize the annexation until such time as the process for land use compatibility terminates. Nothing in these procedures shall preclude the rights of any property owner, "the Initiator", or "the Affected" to seek legal remedy in a court of competent jurisdiction.

3.

Building permits. No permits shall be issued for construction of a building on newly annexed property until the City of West Point receives clearance on the annexation request from the U.S. Department of Justice as required by the Voting Rights Act of 1965, as amended.

(Ord. No. 2007-10, 3-12-07)