NEWS ANALYSIS

MARK SCHUMANN

Two south barrier island residents concerned about the Indian River County Commission’s relatively lax regulation of short-term vacation rentals addressed the City Council this week requesting a study of the costs and benefits of annexing the unincorporated area of the south barrier island into the City of Vero Beach.

For most residents of the south barrier island, the financial cost/benefit analysis involves calculating the municipal service tax and franchise fees pay to the County, and comparing those taxes and fees to the $2.38 per thousand in taxable property value currently assessed by the City.

Dr. Miles Conway and Carter Taylor told the Council there are intangible benefits to consider as well.  Unlike the County Commission, the City Council has doggedly defended and preserved its authority to prohibit the operation of vacation rental businesses in residential neighborhoods. Experts agree the presence of short-term vacation rentals depress surrounding property values. This effect, Dr. Conway described as a “hidden tax.” Conway said he would gladly pay more to benefit from the City’s proactive enforcement of its ordinances prohibiting short-term vacation rentals.

Taylor suggested that with the inclusion of the south barrier island in the City’s total tax base, property taxes could be lower for everyone in the City. (With its high property values, Marco Island has one of the lowest property tax rates in the state, yet Marco Island raises more in property taxes per resident than does Vero Beach.) 

Some 1900 homes are located on the barrier island south of the city limits, all of them already served by the City’s water and sewer and electric utilities. Any increase costs to the City associated with providing solid waste service the south barrier island would be offset by fees. According to City Manager Jim O’Connor, if the south barrier island were to become a part of the city, the only additional expense would be in providing police protection.

While Indian River County Sheriff Daryl Loar maintains his department is responsive to the south barrier island, not everyone agrees. Because Loar’s department does not assign a deputy to patrol the barrier island around the clock there are times when officers of the Vero Beach Police Department could respond more quickly to emergencies in the area.

One of the long-standing complaints south barrier islanders have had against the City is that they have no vote in electing the persons responsible for running their utilities. Annexation would certainly address the complaint that the City is taxing south barrier islanders without representation.

For customers of Vero Electric located outside the city limits, six percent of what they pay in water and sewer and electric service goes to the City’s general fund. But another six percent goes to the County Commission as a franchise fee.  The County Commission is not likely to welcome the loss of the franchise fees and municipal service taxes paid by south barrier islanders.

A move to annex the south barrier island would require holding a referendum of south barrier residents. At the City Council’s discretion, annexation could be put to a vote among the City’s existing registered voters.

Following are Florida Statutes relevant to annexation.

171.0413. Annexation procedures

Any municipality may annex contiguous, compact, unincorporated territory in the following manner:

(1) An ordinance proposing to annex an area of contiguous, compact, unincorporated territory shall be adopted by the governing body of the annexing municipality pursuant to the procedure for the adoption of a nonemergency ordinance established by s. 166.041. Prior to the adoption of the ordinance of annexation, the local governing body shall hold at least two advertised public hearings. The first public hearing shall be on a weekday at least 7 days after the day that the first advertisement is published. The second public hearing shall be held on a weekday at least 5 days after the day that the second advertisement is published. Each such ordinance shall propose only one reasonably compact area to be annexed. However, prior to the ordinance of annexation becoming effective, a referendum on annexation shall be held as set out below, and, if approved by the referendum, the ordinance shall become effective 10 days after the referendum or as otherwise provided in the ordinance, but not more than 1 year following the date of the referendum.

(2) Following the final adoption of the ordinance of annexation by the governing body of the annexing municipality, the ordinance shall be submitted to a vote of the registered electors of the area proposed to be annexed. The governing body of the annexing municipality may also choose to submit the ordinance of annexation to a separate vote of the registered electors of the annexing municipality. The referendum on annexation shall be called and conducted and the expense thereof paid by the governing body of the annexing municipality.

(a) The referendum on annexation shall be held at the next regularly scheduled election following the final adoption of the ordinance of annexation by the governing body of the annexing municipality or at a special election called for the purpose of holding the referendum. However, the referendum, whether held at a regularly scheduled election or at a special election, shall not be held sooner than 30 days following the final adoption of the ordinance by the governing body of the annexing municipality.

(b) The governing body of the annexing municipality shall publish notice of the referendum on annexation at least once each week for 2 consecutive weeks immediately preceding the date of the referendum in a newspaper of general circulation in the area in which the referendum is to be held. The notice shall give the ordinance number, the time and places for the referendum, and a brief, general description of the area proposed to be annexed. The description shall include a map clearly showing the area and a statement that the complete legal description by metes and bounds and the ordinance can be obtained from the office of the city clerk.

(c) On the day of the referendum on annexation there shall be prominently displayed at each polling place a copy of the ordinance of annexation and a description of the property proposed to be annexed. The description shall be by metes and bounds and shall include a map clearly showing such area.

(d) Ballots or mechanical voting devices used in the referendum on annexation shall offer the choice “For annexation of property described in ordinance number ___ of the City of __________” and “Against annexation of property described in ordinance number ___ of the City of __________” in that order.

(e) If the referendum is held only in the area proposed to be annexed and receives a majority vote, or if the ordinance is submitted to a separate vote of the registered electors of the annexing municipality and the area proposed to be annexed and there is a separate majority vote for annexation in the annexing municipality and in the area proposed to be annexed, the ordinance of annexation shall become effective on the effective date specified therein. If there is any majority vote against annexation, the ordinance shall not become effective, and the area proposed to be annexed shall not be the subject of an annexation ordinance by the annexing municipality for a period of 2 years from the date of the referendum on annexation.

(3) Any parcel of land which is owned by one individual, corporation, or legal entity, or owned collectively by one or more individuals, corporations, or legal entities, proposed to be annexed under the provisions of this act shall not be severed, separated, divided, or partitioned by the provisions of said ordinance, but shall, if intended to be annexed, or if annexed, under the provisions of this act, be annexed in its entirety and as a whole. However, nothing herein contained shall be construed as affecting the validity or enforceability of any ordinance declaring an intention to annex land under the existing law that has been enacted by a municipality prior to July 1, 1975. The owner of such property may waive the requirements of this subsection if such owner does not desire all of the tract or parcel included in said annexation.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in this law, the annexation procedure as set forth in this section shall constitute a uniform method for the adoption of an ordinance of annexation by the governing body of any municipality in this state, and all existing provisions of special laws which establish municipal annexation procedures are repealed hereby; except that any provision or provisions of special law or laws which prohibit annexation of territory that is separated from the annexing municipality by a body of water or watercourse shall not be repealed.

(5) If more than 70 percent of the land in an area proposed to be annexed is owned by individuals, corporations, or legal entities which are not registered electors of such area, such area shall not be annexed unless the owners of more than 50 percent of the land in such area consent to such annexation. Such consent shall be obtained by the parties proposing the annexation prior to the referendum to be held on the annexation.

(6) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2), if the area proposed to be annexed does not have any registered electors on the date the ordinance is finally adopted, a vote of electors of the area proposed to be annexed is not required. In addition to the requirements of subsection (5), the area may not be annexed unless the owners of more than 50 percent of the parcels of land in the area proposed to be annexed consent to the annexation. If the governing body does not choose to hold a referendum of the annexing municipality pursuant to subsection (2), then the property owner consents required pursuant to subsection (5) shall be obtained by the parties proposing the annexation prior to the final adoption of the ordinance, and the annexation ordinance shall be effective upon becoming a law or as otherwise provided in the ordinance.

171.043. Character of the area to be annexed

A municipal governing body may propose to annex an area only if it meets the general standards of subsection (1) and the requirements of either subsection (2) or subsection (3).

(1) The total area to be annexed must be contiguous to the municipality’s boundaries at the time the annexation proceeding is begun and reasonably compact, and no part of the area shall be included within the boundary of another incorporated municipality.

(2) Part or all of the area to be annexed must be developed for urban purposes. An area developed for urban purposes is defined as any area which meets any one of the following standards:

(a) It has a total resident population equal to at least two persons for each acre of land included within its boundaries;

(b) It has a total resident population equal to at least one person for each acre of land included within its boundaries and is subdivided into lots and tracts so that at least 60 percent of the total number of lots and tracts are 1 acre or less in size; or

(c) It is so developed that at least 60 percent of the total number of lots and tracts in the area at the time of annexation are used for urban purposes, and it is subdivided into lots and tracts so that at least 60 percent of the total acreage, not counting the acreage used at the time of annexation for nonresidential urban purposes, consists of lots and tracts 5 acres or less in size.

(3) In addition to the area developed for urban purposes, a municipal governing body may include in the area to be annexed any area which does not meet the requirements of subsection (2) if such area either:

(a) Lies between the municipal boundary and an area developed for urban purposes, so that the area developed for urban purposes is either not adjacent to the municipal boundary or cannot be served by the municipality without extending services or water or sewer lines through suchsparsely developed area; or

(b) Is adjacent, on at least 60 percent of its external boundary, to any combination of the municipal boundary and the boundary of an area or areas developed for urban purposes as defined in subsection (2). The purpose of this subsection is to permit municipal governing bodies to extend corporate limits to include all nearby areas developed for urban purposes and, where necessary, to include areas which at the time of annexation are not yet developed for urban purposes whose future probable use is urban and which constitute necessary land connections between the municipality and areas developed for urban purposes or between two or more areas developed for urban purposes.