In an annexation dispute, the City passed an annexation ordinance before the County’s objection to the annexation was resolved in the statutory arbitration. During the arbitration process, one of the arbitrators resigned and a replacement arbitrator was never appointed. Thus, the arbitration never occurred.
The question before the Court was whether the unresolved objection and unfinished arbitration renders the City’s annexation invalid. Though pre-September 1, 2007 annexations were invalid until objections were resolved, the current statute does not. Accordingly, because substantial compliance is the statutory standard, the Court concluded that the City substantially complied with statutory requirements for annexation.
[T]he County emphasizes in its brief on appeal, OCGA § 36-36-117 provides that “[f]ollowing the conclusion of the dispute resolution process outlined in this article, the municipal corporation and an applicant for annexation may either accept the recommendations of the arbitration panel and proceed with the remaining annexation process or abandon the annexation proceeding.” Importantly, however, the Act does not include any provision stating that failure to comply with the statutory process results in the annexation being invalid. In the absence of such a provision, we reject the County’s contention that the annexation at issue in this case is void on the ground that the City failed to comply with the dispute resolution procedures set forth in OCGA § 36-36-110 et seq. We therefore affirm the trial court’s judgment in favor of the City on this claim.
Coweta Cnty. v. City of Newnan, — Ga. App. –, A24A1415, 2025 WL 749951 (Mar. 10, 2025)
