Section 36-36-131 - Application for deannexation; scope; filing of notification of deannexation; reannexation(a) Authority is granted to the governing authority of any municipality to deannex an area or areas of the existing corporate limits thereof, in accordance with the procedures provided in this article and in Article 1 of this chapter, upon the written and signed applications of all of the owners of all of the land, except the owners of any public street, road, highway, or right of way, proposed to be deannexed, containing a complete description of the lands to be deannexed; provided, however, that no more than ten parcels of property may be deannexed in one action and only upon the adoption of a resolution by the governing authority of the county in which such property is located consenting to such deannexation. If the governing authority of the county consents to the deannexation and the deannexation conforms with the requirements of this article, the governing authority of the municipal corporation shall approve such deannexation unless it finds that the deannexation would be detrimental to the health, safety, and welfare of the residents and property owners of the area to be deannexed or to the area remaining within the municipality.(b) Lands to be deannexed at any one time under this article shall be treated as one body, regardless of the number of owners, and all parts shall be considered as adjoining the limits of the municipality when any one part of the entire body abuts such limits; provided, however, that at least one-eighth of the aggregate external boundary or 50 feet of the area to be deannexed, whichever is less, either abuts directly on the municipal boundary or would directly abut on the municipal boundary if it were not otherwise separated from the municipal boundary by lands owned by the municipal corporation or some other political subdivision, by lands owned by this state, or by the definite width of: (1) Any street or street right of way;(2) Any creek or river; or(3) Any right of way of a railroad or other public service corporation which divides the municipal boundary and any area proposed to be deannexed.
(c) When such application is acted upon by the municipal governing authority and the land is, by ordinance, deannexed from the municipality, an identification of the property so deannexed shall be filed with the Department of Community Affairs and with the governing authority of the county in which the property is located in accordance with Code Section 36-36-3.(d) When so deannexed, such lands shall cease to constitute a part of the lands within the corporate limits of the municipality as completely and fully as if the limits had been marked and defined by local Act of the General Assembly.(e)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2) of this subsection and Code Section 36-36-133, when so deannexed, the land shall be deannexed from the municipality effective for ad valorem tax purposes on December 31 of the year during which such application is submitted and for all other purposes on the first day of the next calendar quarter that begins at least one month after the month during which the requirements of this article have been met.(2) Unless otherwise agreed in writing by the governing authority of the county and a municipal governing authority, where property zoned and used for commercial purposes is deannexed from a municipality with an independent school system, the effective date for the purposes of ad valorem taxes levied for educational purposes shall be December 31 of the year after the year in which the requirements of this article have been met.(f) Property that has been deannexed from a municipality under this article shall not be annexed again until at least two calendar years after the effective date of such deannexation unless such annexation is accomplished by local Act of the General Assembly.Added by 2023 Ga. Laws 257,§ 3, eff. 5/2/2023.