As mandated by law, an appointment to the zoning board of adjustment is for a three-year term, a condition that could affect some student representation. Terms of the planning board are set locally. Those in an ETJ can t vote in local elections. ETJ residents do not pay town taxes and are provided no services. In annexation, however, property owners pay taxes, can vote in elections and run for office.
Annexed properties can be spot or satellite, as well as contiguous.
Any services offered in the town, such as street lights, garbage collections, water and sewer, must also be provided to those annexed. In both ETJ and annexation, a town can extend its governing powers such as naming historic districts, issuing building permits, and providing floodway, sedimentation and zoning regulations. Either we sleep through it or wake up and prepare for it.