Any property within the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Bloomington may be the subject of an annexation agreement that meets the requirements of this chapter.
Annexation may be pursued without an agreement if the subject property is contiguous, will be annexed in compliance with § 44-201, Establishment of districts, and:
A. 
All property owners and at least 51% of electors desire to be annexed, pursuant to Article 7, Division 1, of the Illinois Municipal Code;[1] or
[1]
Editor's Note: See 65 ILCS 5/7-1-8 et seq.
B. 
The property is being annexed without the consent of the owners or occupants thereof pursuant to Article 7, Division 1, of the Illinois Municipal Code;[2] or
[2]
Editor's Note: See 65 ILCS 5/7-1-1 et seq.
C. 
The property is wholly bounded and is not requesting or receiving any incentives at the time of annexation; or
D. 
The property is already developed and is either annexing for the purposes of accessing public utilities or annexing at the request of the City; or
E. 
The property is owned by the City of Bloomington.
A. 
Each annexation agreement shall contain (if the property to be annexed to the City is not a part of all of the other units of local government) a provision stating either:
(1) 
That petitions for annexation will be filed with such other units of local government and diligently pursued to a final decision; or
(2) 
Petitions will be filed to annex such property to such other units of local government and diligently pursued to a final decision within 90 days of the date of notification by such other units of local government that such property meets the statutory qualifications for annexation to such other units of local government.
B. 
Annexation agreements may contain any other provision not prohibited by law.
C. 
Public hearings on all actions in an annexation agreement that are required by law to occur after public hearing, such as rezoning, shall take place prior to approval of the agreement.
A. 
Filing. All annexation agreements must be filed with the City in sufficient time to be included on the agenda of the City Council meeting at which it will be first considered. Persons desiring to annex property to the City of Bloomington shall furnish to the City the following:
(1) 
Proof of ownership or sufficient proprietary interest. Where the owner is not the applicant, the applicable review official shall require an applicant to present evidence that the applicant is a duly authorized agent of the owner or has sufficient proprietary interest, such as a contract to purchase;
(2) 
A complete legal description of the subject property;
(3) 
Evidence of consultation, as required by the Illinois Endangered Species Protection Act and the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act;[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 520 ILCS 10/1 et seq. and 525 ILCS 30/1 et seq., respectively.
B. 
Fees. Each annexation agreement shall be accompanied by a filing fee as set forth in the Schedule of Fees, which shall be nonrefundable unless said agreement is withdrawn prior to the time any notices are published or staff meetings are held thereon. In addition to the filing fee cited herein, the applicant shall be responsible for paying the City for the cost of publishing the public notice of the public hearing on any annexation agreement filed with the City by such applicant. The applicant shall pay such cost to the City prior to the public hearing on such application. Failure to pay such cost prior to the public hearing shall result in the cancellation of such hearing. In addition, annexation fees may be required as set forth in § 8.5-206, Fees to be paid as condition of annexation to City; these may be due at the time of annexation or deferred as described in the subject annexation agreement.
C. 
Notices. Public hearings and actions required under this chapter shall comply with the relevant notice requirements of § 44-1705, Notice and public hearings, of the City Code and Section 11-15.1-3 of the Illinois Municipal Code.[2] No annexation agreement will be considered by the City Council unless such notice is given. If action on an annexation petition is heard concurrently with action on an annexation agreement, notices required to be given by Section 7-1-1 of the Municipal Code[3] shall be given not less than 10 days prior to the City Council meeting at which such action is first considered.
[2]
Editor's Note: See 65 ILCS 5/11-15.1-3.
[3]
Editor's Note: See 65 ILCS 5/7-1-1.
D. 
First meeting. The City shall schedule the first meeting at which such agreement will be considered by the Bloomington Planning Commission or the City Council as soon as possible after receipt of such agreement unless such agreement is withdrawn or found by the City Corporation Counsel to be legally deficient.
E. 
Action by Planning Commission.
(1) 
The Planning Commission shall conduct a public hearing on any annexation agreement that includes a proposed amendment(s) to the Official Zoning Map for the City of Bloomington, McLean County, if not in compliance with § 44-201, Establishment of districts, and shall recommend the adoption of such amendment unless the Commission finds that such amendment is not in the public interest or is solely for the benefit of the person requesting such amendment. The Planning Commission shall also make a recommendation(s) on any provisions included in such agreement which may impact the ability of permitted or special uses, as approved within the proposed zoning, to be enacted or enforced within the context of the Zoning Code of the City of Bloomington.
(2) 
In making such a finding, the Planning Commission may consider the standards for consideration for Zoning Map amendments, as iterated in § 44-1706E(2)(a) of the City Code, as well as the extent to which the proposed amendment is consistent with the public interest, giving due consideration to the purpose and intent of Chapter 44, Article I, of the Bloomington City Code — 1960 (Zoning).
F. 
Action by City Council. The City Council, shall conduct a public hearing on all annexation agreements, and shall approve or reject the agreement, as written or with modifications, on the basis of:
(1) 
The facts presented at the public hearings; and
(2) 
The recommendations of the Planning Commission, if provided; and
(3) 
The recommendations of the City staff.
G. 
Final action. Approval shall be by resolution authorizing the Mayor and City Clerk to execute the agreement on behalf of the City and shall require a vote of at least two-thirds of the corporate authorities, including the Mayor.[4] If modifications are a condition of the approval of the agreement, such modifications need not be made at that time. Execution of the agreement may occur at any time after required modifications are made; such agreement as modified shall be printed in the minutes of the first Council meeting following execution.
[4]
Editor's Note: See 65 ILCS 5/11-15.1-3.
H. 
Following adoption and execution of any approved annexation agreement, and receipt of an appropriate recording fee as determined by the Recorder of Deeds, the City Clerk shall cause to be recorded on all directly affected parcels, in the office of the Recorder of Deeds of McLean County, a complete and certified copy of the approving resolution, adopted annexation agreement, including all exhibits, and any supporting covenants, deeds, restrictions, or documents necessary to further the explanation of provisions included therein.
A. 
Persons desiring to annex property to the City of Bloomington shall furnish to the City the following:
(1) 
Completed petition for annexation, including legal description of the property to be annexed;
(2) 
One high-resolution PDF version of the annexation plat;
(3) 
Affidavit of notice to any fire protection district and, if applicable, to any Township Highway Commissioner and Board of Trustees of the township from any of which the property is proposed to be disconnected as required by Section 7-1-1 of the Municipal Code;[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 65 ILCS 5/7-1-1.
(4) 
The real estate index number of the property, area thereof, most recent equalized assessed valuation of the property to be annexed and the last year's real property tax levied by the rural township on the property, both for corporate purposes and for road and bridge tax;
(5) 
Any additional items required by an executed annexation agreement, should one exist for the subject property.
B. 
No annexation request will be acted upon by the City Council unless such information is furnished by the petitioner.
C. 
Upon adoption of an annexing ordinance, the applicant shall provide to the City two Mylar copies and one digital copy of the final adopted annexation plat in CAD format. Data should be georeferenced to the project area using Projected Coordinate System: NAD 1983 HARN StatePlan Illinois East FIPS 1201 (US Feet) WKID 3443.
Any property annexed to the City of Bloomington that is not the subject of an annexation agreement shall be automatically classified, upon annexation, to the City zoning district most closely equivalent to the existing or most recent zoning classification assigned under the jurisdiction of McLean County, Illinois, in compliance with § 44-201, Establishment of districts.[1]
[1]
Editor's Note: See 65 ILCS 5/7-1-47.
A. 
As a condition of annexing property into the corporate limits of the City of Bloomington, property shall be subject to the fees as set forth in the Schedule of Fees, unless such fees are waived or modified by annexation agreement.
B. 
The fees constitute the City's estimation of services rendered by the City of Bloomington for newly annexed property. The fees are calculated on a per-lot basis for Single-Family, Mixed Residence, and Downtown Neighborhood Residence District lots, and on a square-foot basis for other Residential and all Commercial District lots. Parcels submitted as Planned Unit Developments shall also be calculated on a square-foot basis. Lots zoned as a Public Interest District shall not be subject to the annexation fees established in this section, unless said property is sold or long-term leased by the owner, in which case annexation fees shall be paid on a square-foot basis at the time of the execution of such sale or lease.
C. 
In calculating the area subject to annexation fees, areas to be used for required landscaping or retention/detention basins shall not be used in such calculation.