(La Porte, IN) - A legal challenge appears to be in the works to try and stop the City of LaPorte from annexing the 39 North Conservancy District.

 

Attorney Christian Matozzo of South Bend said legal action will be taken on behalf of some property owners in the conservancy, once the city formally notifies every property owner in the district that an ordinance to annex was approved by the City Council on September 9th and that they have a right to remonstrate.

 

So far, Matozzo said the city has not provided district property owners with such notification, which is required under state law for annexation to happen.

 

“If these requirements are not met under the code the annex fails,” he said.

 

Once the proper notifications have been received by certified mail, Matozzo said, there’s a 90-day period to file a remonstrance to the proposed annexation that would then be decided by a judge.

 

Matozzo said he will lay out his legal arguments and other concerns about the proposed annexation during the 39 North Conservancy District Board meeting on Friday.

 

Over the summer, the city obtained 57 percent of the signatures from property owners needed to meet the first state requirement of having majority support from district landowners.  

 

The conservancy board and City Council soon entered into a Memorandum of Understanding outlining conditions that must be met by the city for the district to support the annexation. These include replacing water lines in the conservancy with larger ones for increased flows to provide better fire protection and open up the district to further residential and commercial development.

 

The city also agreed to pay $2 million for the existing infrastructure district landowners paid to have installed about 20 years ago to promote development.

 

Payment under the MOU would be in the form of credits on their water and sewer bills.

 

Matozzo said the purpose of his presentation will be to persuade the board to withdraw from the MOU and become one of the remonstrators.

 

He questions whether the city has the financial ability to pay for the water system upgrades estimated at more than $10 million in a timely fashion.

 

“They say we’re going to pay you for the infrastructure and capital improvements. With what money are they doing that,” he said.

 

Matozzo said the other reason for addressing the board is to pressure the city into providing the proper notifications because a remonstrance cannot be legally filed until after the notices have been received.

 

“We will have our day in court,” he said.

 

He alleged the city has been going through the legal process quietly since the annexation ordinance passed, so as to avoid drawing attention from potential challengers until after the remonstrance deadline expires.

 

“We think that really the public has been kind of put to sleep,” Matozzo said.

 

If 65 percent or more of district landowners sign a petition to remonstrate, he said,  the proposed annexation under state law will automatically die. 51 percent of the signatures from district property owners are required on the remonstrance petition for a court to decide the matter.

 

Matozzo believes more people, including some individuals who previously agreed to be annexed, will come out against it once all of the facts are laid out.

 

City Attorney Nick Otis has accepted an invitation from the board to be at the meeting to respond to the concerns, said 39 North Conservancy District Attorney Shaw Friedman.

 

“The city is the one that is petitioning for annexation so they really need to answer the legal questions on the annexation process,” he said.

 

Mayor Tom Dermody said he will also be there to hear the presentation.

 

The Mayor said the proper notifications haven’t been sent because he wanted to hear from the city’s financial consultants one more time to make sure the resources are there to properly serve the area targeted for annexation.

 

Dermody said work has also been occurring to comply with other legal requirements.

 

“We know the process. Everything is still moving. We’re just taking our time. The 39 North residents deserve that and we do things correctly,” he said.