In Volume 25 of the Stetson Law Review, Spring 1996, I wrote my first article about annexation in Florida, A Practical Perspective about Annexation in Florida.
That article has been cited widely because it summarized annexation law at that time and discussed annexation from a city’s, county’s, and landowner’s perspective. That article also discussed handling and avoiding annexation challenges, with a substantial emphasis on joint-planning-area agreements (agreements between cities and counties that set forth future annexation areas).
The purposes of this Article are to update the 1996 article, discuss Chapter 164, the Florida Governmental Conflict Resolution Act (which now expressly applies to annexation), and suggest changes to Chapter 171, the Municipal Annexation or Contraction Act. It is anticipated that the Florida Legislature will revise Chapter 171 in 2003 substantially; therefore, the reader should consult that statute to determine the current status of Florida annexation law.