Petitioners challenged the annexation of their property, alleging that the annexation, a) violated N.C. Gen.Stat. § 160A–49, which requires that the annexation report be made available to the public at the office of the municipal clerk; and b) violated N.C. Gen.Stat. § 160A–48, which requires that a municipal governing board use recorded property lines and streets as boundaries when fixing new municipal boundaries.
The court rejected the first argument, finding that N.C. Gen.Stat. § 160A–49(c) does not require that a complete copy of the annexation report be made available for distribution to the public. Instead, the statute only requires that the complete report be made available to the public at the office of the municipal clerk.
The court then rejected Petitioners’ argument that annexation boundaries which cross over streets are not permitted by N.C. Gen.Stat. § 160A–48(e), finding that the statute simply requires the use of streets as boundaries. It does not specify that the boundary must continuously follow a particular side of a street.
The court also rejected Petitioners’ argument that the use of a private street as a boundary was not permitted by N.C. Gen.Stat. § 160A–48(e), finding that the statute merely requires the use of a”“street” as a boundary; there is no requirement that the street be designated as public.