§ 5. Annexation.

The city may change its territorial limits by the annexation of any area lying contiguous to its corporate limits by any one or more of the following methods:

(1)

The city may annex additional territory to its territorial limits upon petition signed by 51 percent of all of the landowners of the area sought to be annexed consenting to and requesting the annexation of said area to the City of Lake Butler. Said petition shall be presented to and may be approved by the city commission in its discretion at a regular meeting of the commission and filed with the permanent records of the city. After the approval of the petition by the commission at the next regular meeting or at any regular meeting thereafter, the city commission by a majority vote may by appropriate ordinance annex the area described in the petition to the city.

(2)

Any unincorporated area of real property in Union County may be annexed to the territorial limits of and included in the boundaries of the City of Lake Butler, by the same procedure as set forth in F.S. ch. 171.

As to methods of annexation set forth in subsection (1) of this section notice of intent to so annex shall be published once a week for four consecutive weeks in some newspaper of general circulation in the city, with the first publication to be not less than 30 days prior to the final enactment of that ordinance.

In the event of annexation by any one of the methods authorized by this Charter, the city shall cause a copy of the ordinance of annexation to be recorded in the public records of Union County, Florida. The city may, by resolution at the time of or prior to said annexation, provide for municipal improvements for such area, for exemptions from taxation for the year of annexation where the circumstances in the discretion of the city commission warrant such exemption, and for participation by the city in part or all of the cost of municipal improvements in such annexed areas. The recording of said ordinance as above said, shall be prima facie evidence and notice that such annexation has been completed, that such annexed area is thereupon within the corporate limits of the city and that said petition or election, as the case may be, said ordinance and the resolution if any, has been duly executed, validated, ratified and confirmed.

(Laws of Fla. ch. 99-477, § 1)

Editor's note

Parts of this section have been editorially deleted as preempted by F.S. ch. 171 procedure for annexation and contraction of municipal boundaries and specifically F.S. § 171.022 which repealed all special acts or municipal charter provisions in effect on October 1, 1974, regarding involuntary annexations.