Ala. Code tit. 11, tit. 2, ch. 42, art. 2 — Annexation of Territory by Municipalities with Consent of All Property Owners | Code of Alabama 1975 (through the 2026 Regular Session) — Alabama

Ala. Code § 11-42-20 “Owners” Defined.

11-42-20. “Owners” Defined. The term “owners,” as used in this article, shall mean the person in whose name the property is assessed for ad valorem tax purposes in the absence of proof to the contrary. (Acts 1971, No. 2228, p. 3585, §1.)

Ala. Code § 11-42-21 Annexation Proceedings.

11-42-21. Annexation Proceedings. (a) Whenever all of the owners of property located and contained within an area contiguous to the corporate limits of any incorporated municipality located in the state and the property does not lie within the corporate limits or police jurisdiction of any other municipality, shall sign and file a written petition with the city clerk of the municipality requesting that the property be annexed to the municipality, and the governing body of the municipality adopts an ordinance assenting to the annexation of the property to the municipality, the corporate limits of the municipality shall be extended and rearranged so as to embrace and include the property, and the property shall become a part of the corporate area of the municipality upon the date of the publication of the ordinance. (b)(1) In the event any incorporated municipality’s police jurisdiction overlaps with the police jurisdiction of one or more other incorporated municipalities, the governing body of any one of the incorporated municipalities may exercise the authority of this article, in the overlapping portions of their police jurisdiction, to a boundary which is equidistant from the respective corporate limits of each of the incorporated municipalities which have overlapping police jurisdictions. (2) If all of the owners of property located and contained within the area to be annexed sign and file a written petition with the city clerk of the incorporated municipality requesting that the property be annexed to the incorporated municipality, and the property is contiguous to the corporate limits of the incorporated municipality, and the governing body of the incorporated municipality adopts an ordinance assenting to the annexation of the property to the municipality, the corporate limits of the municipality shall be extended and rearranged so as to embrace and include the property and the property shall become part of the corporate area of the municipality upon the date of the publication of the ordinance. (c) If an incorporated municipality intends to exercise its rights pursuant to subsection (b), but would have to perform more than one annexation pursuant to the equidistant rule provided by subsection (b) to acquire the entire parcel of property it intends to annex, the incorporated municipality may request that all of the municipalities whose police jurisdictions overlap assent to the annexation by adoption of a resolution of the governing body of each of the municipalities, and if the governing body of the annexing municipality adopts an ordinance assenting to the annexation of the property to the municipality, then the corporate limits of the municipality shall be extended and rearranged so as to embrace and include the property, and the property shall become a part of the corporate area of the municipality upon the date of the publication of the ordinance. (d) The petition required by this section shall contain an accurate description of the property proposed to be annexed together with a map of the property showing its relationship to the corporate limits of the municipality to which the property is proposed to be annexed and the signatures of all of the owners of the property described. It shall be the duty of the governing body to file a description of the property annexed in the office of the judge of probate of the county in which the municipality is located. (Acts 1971, No. 2228, p. 3585, §1; Acts 1981, No. 81-352, p. 507; Acts 1982, No. 82-507, p. 838, §1; Act 2021-459, §1.)

Ala. Code § 11-42-22 Subsequent Extensions of Corporate Limits.

11-42-22. Subsequent Extensions of Corporate Limits. Any incorporated municipality having extended its corporate limits under the provisions of this article or any other law may again extend its corporate limits under this article or under any other law authorizing an extension of the corporate limits by such incorporated municipality. (Acts 1971, No. 2228, p. 3585, §2; Acts 1982, No. 82-507, p. 838, §2.)

Ala. Code § 11-42-23 Provisions of Article Not Exclusive.

11-42-23. Provisions of Article Not Exclusive. The provisions of this article shall in no wise preclude any municipality from extending its corporate limits by annexation in any other way or manner that may be authorized by law. (Acts 1971, No. 2228, p. 3585, §3.)

Ala. Code § 11-42-24 Construction of Article.

11-42-24. Construction of Article. This act [amended sections 11-42-21, 11-42-22] shall not be construed to affect any proposed annexation, done under the provisions of this article, in progress at the time this act [amended sections 11-42-21, 11-42-22] becomes a law; nor shall it affect any proceedings in a court of competent jurisdiction involving annexations attempted under this article. (Acts 1982, No. 82-507, p. 838, §3.)