Virginia's complex annexation laws are rooted in colonial history, when incentives and privileges were granted for the formation of market and courthouse towns.  Today, Virginia is the only state in the US in which cities are legally independent of the counties in which they are located. Friendly or hostile annexation -- the legal taking of county land by an independent city -- is the only way for Virginia towns and cities to grow.
       In the 1960s and '70s, when school integration, busing, and emerging black-majority city governments were high-profile issues, annexation conflicts boiled over. Accusations were made that some annexation cases were aimed at diluting black voting strength. The Richmond annexation case was particularly bitter. The city and county of Suffolk actually merged into the present city of Suffolk.  The General Assembly eventually passed an annexation moratorium and barred a handful of cities (Richmond, Roanoke) from annexing more territory. The Commission on Local Government (which House of Delegates Republicans are currently trying to abolish) was set up to mediate annexation disputes.  Annexation cases (Harrisonbutg v. Rockingham, Augusta v. Staunton & Waynesboro)ground on for years, cost millions of taxpayer dollars and left lasting scars on adjoining communities.
      In rural communities particularly, loss of local schools through annexation or consolidation has often been seen as loss of local identity, history and pride. Virginia's unique independent city-county system, along with the Dillon Rule giving the General Assembly veto power over local government charters and accumulated historical baggage make interjurisdictional cooperation a complicated matter in Virginia.
     John Moeser at VCU has written on this topic, and newspaper files bulge with coverage of annexation disputes.  It's dry reading; I know, because I wrote  some of it.
Gail Nardi

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