BLOOMINGTON – Lawrence County special judge Nathan Nikirk announced that the trial for the Bloomington annexation case will not proceed as scheduled in November, as requested by remonstrators opposing the annexation in areas 1A and 1B.
The trial will be delayed until the constitutional question about the status of the annexation waivers is resolved in another lawsuit.
A 2019 law is the subject of Bloomington’s second annexation lawsuit against the State of Indiana and Monroe County Auditor Catherine Smith, who the city argues counted invalid petitions under the guidance of the 2019 law.
In March 2022, remonstrators in annexation Areas 1A and 1B filed a suit challenging Bloomington’s annexation. As part of their lawsuit, remonstrators claimed that the Court should grant them a second 90-day period to collect remonstrance signatures, beyond the original three-month remonstrance period that ran from October 2021 through January 2022.
However, the city of Bloomington opposes the decision to delay the trial, which will further delay what is now a six-year-long annexation effort.
On Friday, February 24, 2023, Judge Nathan Nikirk agreed with the City of Bloomington and rejected the remonstrators’ request, finding “that COVID-19 did not prevent the filing of remonstrance petitions with the Monroe County Auditor.” Remonstrators then asked the state appeals court to immediately review Judge Nikirk’s order denying a 90-day extension. The City opposed an immediate appeal and the potential further delay of the annexation trial. In its brief order, the Indiana Court of Appeals unanimously rejected an immediate appeal.
Though the Indiana Court of Appeals ruled in favor of the city, it delayed the annexation process, which allowed the state to subsequently pass the 2019 law. If this 2019 law is ruled unconstitutional, then the remonstrators will not have enough signatures to ensure judicial review and will have no legal basis for their five-day trial.
Lawyers for the remonstrators argued proceeding with the trial would be a waste of time and money in the event the trial has no legal basis.
A hearing of the challenge to the constitutionality of the 2019 law is now set for Dec. 10.
The court is required to order annexation to move forward if the City of Bloomington can show that it is in the best interest of the landowners in the areas that will be annexed.
The City proposed the overall annexation of 8,155 acres based on a variety of factors, including increases in population and density of development, opportunities for future growth, the I-69 expansion, and the City’s existing services.
The proposed annexations allow for the long-term planning necessary to accommodate a growing community and facilitate the planning, budgeting, and delivery of services and infrastructure.
Areas annexed into Bloomington receive enhanced services including policing, trash and recycling curbside collection, street and sidewalk/path construction and maintenance, stormwater management, access to Bloomington Transit, safety inspections for rental housing, neighborhood grants, trails, playgrounds and parks, and more. Sewer service may be provided to those not already receiving it. Those receiving sewer services now will experience a reduction in their rates.
