Colorado § 31-12-108 - Setting hearing date - notice given.

§ 31-12-108. Setting hearing date - notice given.

(1) As a part of the resolution initiating annexation proceedings by the municipality or of a resolution finding substantial compliance of an annexation petition or of a petition for an annexation election, the governing body of the annexing municipality shall establish a date, time, and place that the governing body will hold a hearing to determine if the proposed annexation complies with section 30 of article II of the state constitution and sections 31-12-104 and 31-12-105 or such provisions thereof as may be required to establish eligibility under the terms of this part 1. The hearing shall be held not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days after the effective date of the resolution setting the hearing. This hearing need not be held if the municipality has determined conclusively that the requirements of section 30 of article II of the state constitution and sections 31-12-104 and 31-12-105 have not been met.

(2) The clerk shall give notice as follows: A copy of the resolution or the petition as filed (exclusive of the signatures) together with a notice that, on the given date and at the given time and place set by the governing body, the governing body shall hold a hearing upon said resolution of the annexing municipality or upon the petition for the purpose of determining and finding whether the area proposed to be annexed meets the applicable requirements of section 30 of article II of the state constitution and sections 31-12-104 and 31-12-105 and is considered eligible for annexation. Said notice shall be published once a week for four successive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation in the area proposed to be annexed. The first publication of such notice shall be at least thirty days prior to the date of the hearing. The proof of publication of the notice and resolution or petition, or the summary thereof, shall be returned when the publication is completed, the certificate of the owner, editor, or manager of the newspaper in which said notice is published shall be proof thereof, and a hearing shall then be held as provided in said notice. A copy of the published notice, together with a copy of the resolution and petition as filed, shall also be sent by registered mail by the clerk to the board of county commissioners and to the county attorney of the county wherein the territory is located and to any special district or school district having territory within the area to be annexed at least twenty-five days prior to the date fixed for such hearing. The notice required to be sent to the special district or school district by this subsection (2) shall not confer any right of review in addition to those rights provided for in section 31-12-116.

(3) The governing body of the annexing municipality, from time to time, may continue the hearing to another date without additional notice if the volume of material to be received cannot be presented within the available time for any given session; except that no session of a hearing shall be so continued unless at least one hour of testimony has been heard.

Source: L. 75: Entire title R&RE, p. 1083, § 1, effective July 1. L. 87: (2) amended, p. 1220, § 4, effective May 28. L. 2010: (1) and (2) amended, (HB 10-1259), ch. 211, p. 916, § 6, effective August 11.

Editor's note: This section is similar to former § 31-8-108 as it existed prior to 1975.

ANNOTATION

Law reviews. For article, "Annexation: Today's Gamble for Tomorrow's Gain — Parts I and II", see 17 Colo. Law. 603 and 809 (1988).

Annotator's note. Since § 31-12-108 is similar to former § 31-8-108 prior to the 1975 repeal and reenactment of this title, and laws antecedent thereto, relevant cases construing those provisions have been included in the annotations to this section.

Proceedings duly commenced before a city council may be completed regardless of changes in personnel, because a city council is a continuing body. Breternitz v. City of Arvada, 174 Colo. 56, 482 P.2d 955 (1971).

Legal description held to be in substantial compliance with the requirements of this section. Slack v. City of Colo. Springs, 655 P.2d 376 (Colo. 1982).

Immaterial variation in two legal descriptions of annexed area does not invalidate annexation. TCD North, Inc. v. City Council of Greenwood, 713 P.2d 1320 (Colo. App. 1985).

The regional transportation district (RTD) and the Douglas county soil conservation district (DCSCD) are not special districts to whom notice of the annexation hearing must be given under subsection (2). Subsection (2) requires, among other things, that the annexing municipality provide notice of the annexation hearing to any special district having territory within the area to be annexed. For purposes of this subsection, a "special district" means any quasi-municipal corporation and political subdivision organized or acting pursuant to the provisions of the Special District Act, article 1 of title 32. Here, RTD and DCSCD were not created and do not act pursuant to the Special District Act. Rather, each was created and operates pursuant to its own enabling legislation. Such legislation refers to both entities as "districts" but not "special districts". Accordingly, the district court incorrectly voided the annexation because of the city's failure to give notice to these districts. Bd. of County Comm'rs v. City of Aurora, 62 P.3d 1049 (Colo. App. 2002).

Applied in City of Aspen v. Howell, 170 Colo. 82, 459 P.2d 764 (1969); Bd. of County Comm'rs v. City & County of Denver, 37 Colo. App. 395, 548 P.2d 922 (1976).