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Municipal Annexation In Georgia: The Contiguity Conundrum, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Scholarly Works

The Georgia law of municipal annexation possesses a rich history both statutory and decisional. Strangely subdued in this history, however, is the concept of contiguity. Although this term has been stated and defined by the legislature, the concept has historically provoked little controversy, and the courts have stayed away from it with fervor. Recently, this has changed. The purpose here, therefore, is to mark what may well be the origin of a new chapter in the Georgia law of municipal annexation.

Municipal Annexation In Georgia: Nay-Sayers Beward (Plantation Pipe Line Co. V. City Of Bremen), R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Scholarly Works

In the Fall 1967 issue of the Georgia Law Review, there appeared a somewhat ambitious effort to survey the law of municipal annexation in Georgia. That rather stuffy treatment at least served to demonstrate the existence of a history on the subject dating from the beginning of time in this State. It also purported to make one or two daring thrusts at formulating principles then apparently settled and at identifying legal points around which further evolution might be anticipated.

Some apparently believed that these thrusts were more negative than daring and that they reflected an approach which was basically …

The Law Of Municipal Annexation In Georgia: Evolution Of A Concept?, R. Perry Sentell Jr.

Scholarly Works

The time has come to think seriously and in detail about municipal annexation. The effort here, then, represents a return to basics. The justification for it rests on the point that Georgia does indeed possess a rich history in annexation law. What of this history? How has it dictated the law's development? What are the methods of annexation presently available to municipalities in Georgia? Upon what authority are these methods bottomed, and what are the possible limitation upon their effectiveness? Is the point at which the law has now arrived the culmination of evolving a deliberate concept or simply the …