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Senate File 171 to remove duplicate survey requirement for annexations advances
Summary
The Corporations Committee approved Senate File 171, which removes a duplicated survey requirement for parcels annexed into cities and towns; sponsors and municipal officials said the change reduces regulatory burden and avoids redundant monumentation work.
Sen. Dan Nethercott told the Senate Corporations, Elections & Political Subdivisions Committee that Senate File 171, “City and Town Regulatory Reduction,” would eliminate a duplicated survey requirement when land is annexed into a city or town. “The purpose of the bill is to eliminate the duplication of the need for a survey, when the circumstances, concern when a parcel of land is being annexed into the city,” she said.
The bill removes overlapping language between two statutory references, one in title 34 for annexation and another in title 15 that was added in 2007 and also required a survey, Nethercott said. Charles Blimpine, development director for the city (testifying for municipal planners and surveyors), told the committee the duplication leads to unnecessary monumentation work — placing physical survey markers on the ground that are later removed during grading — and wastes effort and money for landowners and developers. Blimpine said the separate survey requirement could force multiple surveys during phased annexations and development and that the duplication serves no practical purpose.
Bob McLaren of the Wyoming Association of Municipalities told the committee WAM supports the measure. Committee discussion was brief; a motion to advance the bill carried on a roll call that recorded “4 ayes and 1 excused.” Senator Landon moved the bill forward.
Why it matters: Committee members and municipal staff said the change would reduce regulatory burden, avoid duplicative on-the-ground monumentation during multi-phase annexations and save landowners and municipalities the cost and time of repeated surveys. The bill does not change other annexation processes such as city-initiated annexations or the treatment of county islands, witnesses said.
The committee recorded its vote and indicated it will carry the bill to the Senate floor for further consideration.
