State representatives are feeling the heat from residents who fear annexation. The most recent saga, a Biltmore Lake subdivision annexation in Asheville, brought out the drama in the issue, when a resident challenged City Mayor Terry Bellamy to a debate on the merits of annexation.
The mayor did not respond to the request, but State Reps. Bruce Goforth and Charles Thomas have. Their proposed legislation, as covered by the Asheville Citizen-Times, “allows for a referendum on annexation if 20 percent of the people living in the affected area present a petition in opposition to the city in a public hearing.”
The story does a good job of suggesting that annexation is getting out of control. It’s becoming a power struggle between the stewards of our rights and interests and the people themselves. It’s a policy principal-agent problem. So bad has the situation become, that many hamlets are taking it upon themselves to incorporate in order to avoid being eaten by the gluttonous city-kitty.
My only regret about this bill is that it’s too local. But one can hope that if it gets passed, it’ll spread faster than the plague.
