Bloomington's legal battle over annexation will be heard by the Indiana Supreme Court on Oct. 30.
The case challenges a 2019 state law that retroactively voided property owners’ remonstrance waivers. The waivers are agreements in which owners gave up their right to oppose annexation in exchange for city services.
Bloomington initially attempted annexation in 2017, but it was stopped by a state law that was later ruled unconstitutional when Bloomington took it to the Indiana Supreme Court.
A second annexation attempt in 2021 was blocked when residents in five of seven proposed annex areas filed petitions opposing it. Many residents could only file petitions because the 2019 law voided remonstrance waivers more than 15 years old.
The city argues the law is unconstitutional because it retroactively voided about 80 percent of the waivers signed in exchange for city sewer services, forcing the city to uphold its end and nullifying residents’ obligation.
The Indiana Supreme Court will hear arguments from both the city and the state legislature starting at 10 a.m. Oct. 30 in Indianapolis.