By Michelle Bliss
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/whqr/local-whqr-977670.mp3
07-15-11 – Property owners in Monkey Junction will soon receive a chance to block the City of Wilmington's proposed involuntary annexation of the area. WHQR's Michelle Bliss reports that the owners of more than 1,200 of the affected parcels will find a letter of petition in their mailboxes early next week.
County Board of Elections Director Marvin McFadyen and his staff are mailing the letters under new legislation passed last month.
"That's going to take the involuntary annexation process out of the municipality's hands, and what it does now is to allow the residents of that area or property owners of that area to actually deny the annexation through a petitioning process."
Recipients will have a 130-day window to block the annexation.
"It'll require a majority of the owners to sign the petitioning letter and mail it back to the Board of Elections. If the letter does not come back to the Board of Elections, that basically means you're either for it or you have no opinion of the annexation itself."
In order to reach a majority, 60% of property owners in Monkey Junction would have to respond. If that many residents and land owners petition, the City of Wilmington would have to wait three years before attempting to lasso the community once again.
If the annexation goes through, McFadyen says Monkey Junction residents would not be eligible to vote in Wilmington's municipal elections this year.
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