1.1                          A bill for an act
  1.2             relating to local government; providing procedures and 
  1.3             criteria for municipal annexation of unincorporated 
  1.4             land; providing certain exceptions; amending Minnesota 
  1.5             Statutes 2000, sections 414.031, by adding 
  1.6             subdivisions; and 414.033, subdivision 2. 
  1.7   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.8      Section 1.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 414.031, is 
  1.9   amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  1.10     Subd. 5a.  [ANNEXATION ELECTION.] (a) If the proceeding for 
  1.11  annexation is started by a resolution of the town board of the 
  1.12  township containing the area proposed to be annexed as provided 
  1.13  in subdivision 1, clause (b), if the proceeding is started by 
  1.14  petition of a majority of the property owners within the area to 
  1.15  be annexed, or if the office of strategic and long-range 
  1.16  planning has assumed jurisdiction under subdivision 1, clause 
  1.17  (d), and orders that the entire township named in the resolution 
  1.18  be annexed to the city named in the resolution, a referendum is 
  1.19  not required.  A referendum is not required if the proposed 
  1.20  annexation is to remedy or prevent environmental degradation as 
  1.21  determined by the Minnesota pollution control agency. 
  1.22     (b) Except as provided in paragraph (a), at least ten days 
  1.23  before submitting a resolution to the director of the office of 
  1.24  strategic and long-range planning, the municipality shall 
  1.25  provide mailed notice to the property owners of the area 
  1.26  proposed for annexation.  The notice must set forth the 
  2.1   boundaries of the territory proposed for annexation, the reasons 
  2.2   for the annexation, the date on which the resolution will be 
  2.3   submitted to the director, and a clear explanation of the right 
  2.4   to petition for an election on the proposed annexation and the 
  2.5   petition requirements.  In addition, at least ten days before 
  2.6   the municipality submits its resolution to the director, it must 
  2.7   publish notice in a qualified newspaper of general circulation 
  2.8   in the area proposed for annexation.  The municipality must 
  2.9   submit to the director with its resolution, proof by affidavit 
  2.10  that the required mailed and published notices were provided. 
  2.11     (c) If a petition is signed by at least 35 percent of the 
  2.12  property owners or 100 property owners in the area proposed for 
  2.13  annexation, whichever is less, and is submitted to the director 
  2.14  within 60 days after the resolution was submitted, a public 
  2.15  hearing and an election must be held on the annexation.  The 
  2.16  director shall fix a day not less than 20 days, nor more than 90 
  2.17  days, after verification of the petition, when an election must 
  2.18  be held at a place designated by the director.  The director 
  2.19  shall also order a joint public hearing of the city council and 
  2.20  township board to be held not less than ten and not more than 30 
  2.21  days prior to the election.  The actual date, time, and place of 
  2.22  the hearing shall be determined by the chair of the affected 
  2.23  town board in consultation with the mayor of the annexing 
  2.24  municipality.  The chair of the affected town board shall chair 
  2.25  the hearing. 
  2.26     (d) The director shall cause a copy of the resolution, and 
  2.27  the notice of the hearing and election, to be posted not less 
  2.28  than ten days before the hearing in three public places in the 
  2.29  township, and shall cause notice of the election to be published 
  2.30  for two successive weeks in a qualified newspaper of general 
  2.31  circulation in the township.  The director shall appoint the 
  2.32  necessary election judges from the county's list of election 
  2.33  judges for the affected township from the most recent general 
  2.34  election.  The director shall designate the polling places, 
  2.35  using so far as possible the places within the township 
  2.36  designated as polling places for the last general election.  The 
  3.1   polls must be open at least 13 hours and until at least 8:00 p.m.
  3.2   The director shall ensure that the election is conducted in 
  3.3   compliance with this subdivision, and to the extent practical 
  3.4   and not otherwise inconsistent with this subdivision, with the 
  3.5   provisions of law regulating special elections. 
  3.6      (e) Only eligible voters, as defined in section 201.014, 
  3.7   residing in the area proposed to be annexed and other owners of 
  3.8   real property located within the area proposed to be annexed are 
  3.9   entitled to vote. 
  3.10     (f) The ballot must bear the words "For Annexation" and 
  3.11  "Against Annexation" with a square to the left of each phrase so 
  3.12  that the voter may indicate by a mark (X) the voter's choice. 
  3.13  The ballots and election supplies must be provided and the 
  3.14  election judges must be paid by the annexing municipality and 
  3.15  the affected township in equal shares. 
  3.16     (g) Immediately after counting the ballots, the election 
  3.17  judges shall make a signed and verified certificate declaring 
  3.18  the time and place of holding the election, that they have 
  3.19  canvassed the ballots cast, and the number cast both for and 
  3.20  against the proposition.  The election judges shall then file 
  3.21  the certificate with the director. 
  3.22     (h) If the certificate shows the majority of the votes cast 
  3.23  were "For Annexation," the director shall order the annexation.  
  3.24  If the ordered annexation involves 50 percent or more of the 
  3.25  affected township's property, the director shall also order the 
  3.26  election of municipal officers as provided in section 414.09, 
  3.27  subdivision 3.  If a majority of the votes were cast "Against 
  3.28  Annexation," the director shall not consider the resolution. 
  3.29     (i) The director shall, upon receipt of the certificate, 
  3.30  notify all parties of record of the election results. 
  3.31     Sec. 2.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 414.031, is 
  3.32  amended by adding a subdivision to read: 
  3.33     Subd. 5b.  [NO ANNEXATION FOR TWO YEARS.] If an annexation 
  3.34  under this section is denied or a referendum election under 
  3.35  subdivision 5a is defeated, no proceeding for the annexation of 
  3.36  substantially the same area may be initiated within two years 
  4.1   from the date of the director's order or certification of the 
  4.2   election results, unless the proceeding is initiated by a 
  4.3   majority of the area's property owners and the petition is 
  4.4   supported by the governing body of both the affected township 
  4.5   and the municipality to which the land would be annexed. 
  4.6      Sec. 3.  Minnesota Statutes 2000, section 414.033, 
  4.7   subdivision 2, is amended to read: 
  4.8      Subd. 2.  [CONDITIONS.] A municipal council may by 
  4.9   ordinance declare land annexed to the municipality and any such 
  4.10  land is deemed to be urban or suburban in character or about to 
  4.11  become so if: 
  4.12     (1) the land is owned by the municipality; 
  4.13     (2) prior to June 1, 2001, the land is completely 
  4.14  surrounded by land within the municipal limits; 
  4.15     (3) the land abuts the municipality and the area to be 
  4.16  annexed is 60 acres or less, and the area to be annexed is not 
  4.17  presently served by public sewer facilities or public sewer 
  4.18  facilities are not otherwise available, and the municipality 
  4.19  receives a petition for annexation from all the property owners 
  4.20  of the land; or 
  4.21     (4) the land has been approved after August 1, 1995, by a 
  4.22  preliminary plat or final plat for subdivision to provide 
  4.23  residential lots that average 21,780 square feet or less in area 
  4.24  and the land is located within two miles of the municipal limits.