Va. Code » Title 15.2. Counties, Cities and Towns » Subtitle III. Boundary Adjustments and Changes of Status of Counties, Cities and Towns » Chapter 32. Boundary Changes of Towns and Cities » Article 1. Annexati
Virginia Code

Va. Code Ann. § 15.2-3203 (2026)

Petition by voters of adjacent territory, or governing body of adjacent county or town, for annexation; voluntary agreement by governing body to reject annexation

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section VA-LISlaw.lis.virginia.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

A. Whenever fifty-one percent of the voters of any territory adjacent to any city or town or fifty-one percent of the owners of real estate in number and land area in a designated area, or the governing body of the county in which such territory is located, or of the town desiring to annex such territory petition the circuit court for the county, stating that it is desirable that such territory be annexed to the city or town and setting forth the metes and bounds thereof, a copy of such petition shall be served on the city or town council, and published in the manner prescribed in § 15.2-3204. The case shall, except as otherwise provided in this chapter, proceed in all respects as though instituted in the manner prescribed in § 15.2-3202; however, the special court shall not increase the area of the territory described in the petition.

B. Any city or town to which the annexation is proposed may reject such annexation by ordinance, duly adopted by a majority of the elected members of the governing body of the city or town, if such ordinance is adopted either prior to the pretrial conference provided for in § 15.2-3207 or within the time limits set forth in § 15.2-3213.

C. Any county, city or town may enter into a voluntary agreement with any other county, city or town or combination thereof, whereby such city or town agrees to reject any annexations initiated under subsection A. Such agreement may be for such period of time as specified by the parties to such agreement with respect to all or a portion of the county.

Code 1950, § 15-152.4; 1952, c. 328; 1962, c. 623, § 15.1-1034; 1979, c. 85; 1983, c. 594; 1985, c. 478; 1997, c. 587.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 2 cases, 2003–2004 · leading case: Allfirst Trust co. v. Cnty. of Loudoun, 601 S.E.2d 612 (Va. 2004).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
Allfirst Trust co. v. Cnty. of Loudoun, 601 S.E.2d 612 (Va. 2004). · cites it 12× “We conclude that the special court erred in applying to proceedings before the COLG the rules concerning a metes and bounds description that would apply to an annexation petition filed in court.”
Washington Cnty. v. City of Bristol, 63 Va. Cir. 450 (Washington Cir. Ct. 2003). · cites it 11× “Va. Code § 15.2-3203. Since 1987, however, a statutory moratorium has barred cities from initiating hostile proceedings to annex county property.”
Va. Code Ann. § 15.2-3203(A): 2 cases
Allfirst Trust co. v. Cnty. of Loudoun, 601 S.E.2d 612 (Va. 2004). “We conclude that the special court erred in applying to proceedings before the COLG the rules concerning a metes and bounds description that would apply to an annexation petition filed in court.”
Washington Cnty. v. City of Bristol, 63 Va. Cir. 450 (Washington Cir. Ct. 2003). “Va. Code § 15.2-3203. Since 1987, however, a statutory moratorium has barred cities from initiating hostile proceedings to annex county property.”
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.