with the city of
Los Angeles in red, showing the Shoestring Strip annexation, which reaches south to the
San Pedro area and the
Port of Los Angeles. A "shoestring annexation" is a term used for an annexation by a
city,
town or other
municipality in which it acquires new territory that is contiguous to the existing territory but is only connected to it by a thin strip of land. It is sometimes called a "flagpole annexation" because the territory resembles a flagpole, in which the connection is the "pole" and the annexed territory the "flag".
Reasons In some states, municipalities are prohibited from annexing land not directly connected to their existing territory. A shoestring or flagpole annexation allows the municipality to do so. Such annexations are sometimes used when a municipality seeks to acquire
unincorporated developed land, such as a newly built
subdivision separated from it by undeveloped open space. They may also be used when a municipality desires to annex a commercial or industrial area without taking over intervening residential areas, so as to collect tax revenues from the businesses or industry without having to provide services (such as
electricity and
garbage collection) to residents. Such uses of the technique are often criticized and derided as a form of
gerrymandering, and have in fact been used for the purpose of manipulating vote distribution among election precincts and districts. A related strategy is called strip annexation, which involves annexing a narrow strip that encloses a large block of unincorporated land. Strip annexation was widely used by the municipalities of the
Phoenix metropolitan area during the 1970s to preemptively gain control of large areas of land before other municipalities, without having to annex more than a thin strip surrounding a large so-called
county island. The strip protected the county island from being annexed by other municipalities, thus giving the strip-annexing municipality the ability to slowly annex portions of the county island over time. One such annexation by
Chandler in 1974 spurred nearby
Gilbert to create the largest county island to date by annexing a strip no more than 200 feet wide that enclosed 51 square miles of unincorporated
Maricopa County. The annexation was challenged in court and, although found legal, eventually led to legislation in 1980 outlawing strip annexation. Some municipalities rushed to annex before the law took effect, such as
Scottsdale, which annexed a 10 foot wide strip enclosing an 86 square mile county island. Some municipalities, such as
Houston, rely on annexation to prop up their municipal budgets. By annexing land which seems likely to be developed, the city can collect development charges (
impact fees and other taxes) which can be used to pay for infrastructure maintenance (such as
roads,
bridges,
parks,
water and
sewage pipes) in other areas which developed decades prior and which do not generate enough
tax revenue to pay for the long-term maintenance of the infrastructure on which they now rely. This has been likened to a
Ponzi scheme by critics, When this occurs, cities must either raise taxes to pay for infrastructure maintenance,
cut other city services to prioritize maintenance, or
defer maintenance at the cost of letting the infrastructure deteriorate. Cities can also rely on
wealth redistributions from state and federal governments, at the cost of making their municipal budgets far more volatile as these tend to be one-time or time-limited grants.
Suburban developments are disproportionately impacted by this, as their lower population densities and increased demands by residents for city-like services
Examples showing the connection into
DuPage County for O'Hare International Airport.
Port of Los Angeles The
Port of Los Angeles together with the
San Pedro,
Wilmington and
Harbor City neighborhoods of
Los Angeles, are connected to the main part of the city by what is called locally the "
Shoestring Strip" between
Figueroa Street and
Vermont Avenue and between
Western and
Normandie avenues to the south.
O'Hare Airport O'Hare Airport is municipally connected to the city of
Chicago via a narrow strip of land, approximately 200 feet wide, along Foster Avenue from the
Des Plaines River to the airport. This land was annexed in the 1950s to assure the airport was contiguous with the city to keep it under city control. The strip is bounded on the north by
Rosemont and the south by
Schiller Park.
Allston-Brighton The
Boston neighborhoods of
Allston and
Brighton were part of an independent town of Brighton before being annexed by Boston. They are presently connected to the remainder of the city by the
Boston University campus. At the time of the annexation,
Brookline extended to the
Charles River and separated Boston and Brighton. As a result, a shoestring annexation was obtained by Boston from Brookline when Brighton joined Boston. This was made necessary by
Brookline's refusal to join Boston a year before Brighton's annexation.
Santa Barbara Municipal Airport Santa Barbara Municipal Airport is connected to the city of
Santa Barbara, despite being located in the center of the city of
Goleta, through 300 feet wide strip of land mostly located under the
Pacific Ocean.
South San Diego South San Diego, located next to the
Mexico–United States border, is physically separated from the rest of
San Diego by the cities of
National City and
Chula Vista. A narrow strip of land at the bottom of
San Diego Bay connects these southern neighborhoods with the rest of the city.
West Grove West Grove, the western portion of the city of
Garden Grove in
Orange County, California, is separated from the rest of the city by the city of
Stanton. The two portions of the city are connected to the rest of the city by a narrow strip of land along Garden Grove Boulevard from Beach Boulevard to Hoover Street. ==See also==