Florida/Georgia Personal Injury & Workers Compensation

...Those qualified to participate in the referendum are the electors residing in the area to be annexed, together with the electors residing within the corporate limits of the City. The lands sought to be annexed must meet all the standards specified in section 171.043, Florida Statutes (Supp....

owner or owners pursuant to s. 171.044, F. S. Section 171.043, F. S., begins: A municipal governing

in s.171.043 . . . . (Emphasis supplied.) Section 171.043 provides in part that A municipal governing

...general law standards and procedures for adjusting the boundaries of Florida municipalities and acts as a preemption to the state of such legislation. 5 Pursuant to the act, only those areas which do not meet the criteria for annexation set forth in s. 171.043 , F.S., may be proposed for exclusion by municipal governing bodies. 6 Section 171.043 , F.S., prescribes the character of property to be annexed and requires such things as contiguity to the municipality's boundaries, compactness, and that part or all of the area be developed for urban purposes. 7 Thus, property which fits the requirements of s. 171.043 , F.S., may not be excluded from a municipality. 8 The determination of whether the property to be excluded from the City of Ormond Beach is outside the scope of s. 171.043 , F.S., may not be made by this office....

...The notice must describe the area to be excluded and must appear in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality at least once per week for two consecutive weeks. The description included in the notice must include a statement of findings to show that the area to be excluded fails to meet the criteria of s. 171.043 , F.S....

...of municipalities in this state. (2) The provisions of any special act or municipal charter relating to the adjusting of municipal boundaries in effect on October 1, 1974, are repealed except as otherwise provided herein. 6 Section 171.052 , F.S. 7 Section 171.043 (1) and (2), F.S. 8 See , AGO 76-221 (The contraction procedures provided by s. 171.051 , F.S., may be used to exclude only areas found not to meet the characteristics required by s. 171.043 , F.S....

...[1976 Supp.], of areas to be annexed. A municipality is without authority to enact a contraction ordinance, either on the initiative of its governing body or in response to a petition therefor, regarding an area which complies with the annexation characteristics set forth in s. 171.043 .) 9 For purposes of the act, "[c]ontraction" is defined as "the reversion of real property within municipal boundaries to an unincorporated status." See , s....

...of Volusia v. City of Deltona, 925 So.2d 340, 343 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006). Finding no miscarriage of justice under the facts presented, we deny certiorari review. In so ruling, we note that we do not necessarily disagree with Judge Evander's analysis of section 171.043, Florida Statutes (2003)....

...A clearly established principle of law may be derived from a statute. Thus, an improper interpretation of a statute may provide the basis for granting certiorari review. Kaklamanos, 843 So.2d at 890. In the present case, the facts are not disputed. The issue is whether section 171.043, Florida Statutes (2003), permits a municipality to involuntarily annex undeveloped property where no developed property is included in the annexation. The circuit court answered this question in the affirmative, notwithstanding the statute's contrary language. Section 171.043 provides that a municipality may involuntarily annex property *10 only if it meets the general standards of subsection (1) and the requirements of either subsection (2) or (3)....

...the Town of Baldwin.” All lands are incorporated as either the municipal corporation of Jacksonville or several ‘quasi municipal’ corporations, such as Baldwin. Therefore, there are no unincorporated lands within the boundaries of Duval County. Section 171.043, Florida Statutes, prohibits annexation of an area “included within the boundary of another incorporated municipality.” Further, pursuant to section 2.06 of Jacksonville’s Charter, only the legislature can expand the territory o...

...s any other municipal corporation in Florida pursuant to Albury , and (2) the right of any incorporated municipality (such as the City of Jacksonville) to be protected from annexation of land within its boundaries by another municipality pursuant to section 171.043(1)....

since that property meets the requirements of section 171.043, Florida Statutes, and such an action would

...es general law standards and procedures for adjusting the boundaries of Florida municipalities and acts as a preemption to the state of such legislation. Pursuant to the act, only those areas that do not meet the criteria for annexation set forth in section 171.043 , Florida Statutes, may be proposed for exclusion by municipal governing bodies....

...The notice must describe the area to be excluded and must appear in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality at least once per week for two consecutive weeks. The description included in the notice must include a statement of findings to show that the area to be excluded fails to meet the criteria of section 171.043 , Florida Statutes....

...171.022 (1), Fla. Stat., stating that "[i]t is further the purpose of this act to provide viable and usable general law standards and procedures for adjusting the boundaries of municipalities in this state." 8 Section 171.052 (1), Fla. Stat. And see s. 171.043 , Fla....

...Stat., prescribing the character of property to be annexed and requiring such things as contiguity to the municipality's boundaries, compactness, and that part or all of the area be developed for urban purposes. Thus, property which fits the requirements of s. 171.043 may not be excluded from a municipality....