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<br />Chapter 4 - San Marcos Tomorrow <br /> <br />Annexation <br /> <br />Annexation is critical to the long-term well being of San Marcos and needs to be carried <br />out in accordance with established policies and not on an ad hoc basis. As part of San <br />Marcos Horizons, the planning area is comprised of land within the current city limits and <br />the extra-territorial jurisdiction. To obtain and protect these areas, strategic annexations <br />are deemed advisable to bring some of the ETJ into the city limits. The annexation of <br />properties listed in the Annexation Plan and the Annexation Review Program, described <br />below, will allow implementation of the Future Land Use Plan through the application of <br />the zoning and subdivision ordinances. <br /> <br />Because of the fiscal implications of annexation, the costs of providing municipal <br />services must to be estimated and weighed against the anticipated revenues of areas <br />proposed for annexation. Performing a fiscal impact analysis does not mean that only <br />areas with positive cash flow should be annexed. There will be instances when health, <br />safety, environmental or other factors will override fiscal considerations and an area may <br />need to be annexed despite its fiscal impact. Other areas may have short-term financial <br />impacts, but may be in the long-range best financial interest of the city. <br /> <br />A major revision to Texas annexation law took effect on September 1, 1999. Under the <br />revised statute, all Texas cities are required to formally adopt an "annexation plan" by <br />December 31, 1999. The annexation plan must include the proposed annexations of <br />populated areas (those areas that include 100 or more tracts of land, each having at least <br />one dwelling unit on them). All proposed annexations shown in a city's annexation plan <br />must follow a detailed process prescribed by State law and may not be annexed before the <br />third anniversary date of their inclusion in the annexation plan. <br /> <br />Many other annexations, however, are exempt from the requirements to be included in <br />the Annexation Plan. These "exempted annexations" include areas that have less than <br /> <br />San Marcos Horizons <br /> <br />4-52 <br />