Annexation

Orange County Board of County Commissioners serves as your local government if you live in one of the unincorporated areas.

There are three main ways an unincorporated property can be annexed into a municipality: Voluntary Annexation, Enclave Annexation, or Referendum Annexation.

Voluntary Annexation occurs when a property owner submits a petition to join a municipality. If the municipality agrees, it passes a municipal ordinance that annexes the area. To be eligible for voluntary annexation, the property must be next to the annexing municipality.

Enclave Annexations are initiated by a municipality and adopted subject to an interlocal agreement between the county and the municipality.An enclave is any unincorporated area that may only be accessed through a municipality.

Referendum Annexations are initiated by a municipality and must be approved by residents in the impact area as part of a ballot referendum. If a majority of voters pass the referendum, the area is annexed. If a majority of voters reject the referendum, the area remains unincorporated.

All registered voters in the proposed annexation area are eligible to vote. If you own property within the proposed annexation area, but are not a registered voter there, you are not eligible to vote on the referendum.

In most cases, it is difficult and sometimes impossible to de-annex property. Florida Statues requires that specific criteria be met for a de-annexation to be considered. A de-annexation request must be submitted to the municipality.

Section 504 of the Orange County Charter requires any annexation request, outside of a Joint Planning Area Boundary, to go before the Orange County Board of County Commissioners for a public hearing.  Additionally, it requires the annexing property to enter into an Interlocal Agreement with the County.  Finally, if a property is located within the Rural Area, a request for annexation would require a majority plus one vote of the Board.  If approved, the property would be required to enter into an Interlocal Agreement, governed by the County’s Comprehensive Plan and land development regulations.

If a property is located within a Joint Planning Area Boundary, the above does not apply. 

A quick and easy way is to look at the street signs. If your street sign has an Orange on it, you live in unincorporated Orange County. Other municipalities have similar signage, a peacock for Winter Park, Lake Eola Fountain for Orlando. For certainty, check the property appraiser site which has this information for your property.

Joint Planning Area Agreements are a way to establish future annexation boundaries, joint land uses, and notification requirements for future comprehensive plan amendments and rezonings. The County has JPAs with the Cities of Apopka, Ocoee, Winter Garden, and the Town of Oakland. The JPA between the City of Maitland and Orange County expired December 2024.The County has two Interlocal Agreements with the City of Orlando for development in the Southeastern Oaks Area and the Narcoossee Roadway Corridor Area.

These may be accessed here: https://ocfl.box.com/v/JointPlanningAgreements

In November 1992, the voters of Orange County amended the Orange County Charter by adding Section 505, which sets a procedure for annexation in areas designated by the County as preservation areas. As of June 2024, the County has adopted 8 preservation districts.

To learn more about preservation districts and where these requirements apply, visit https://ocfl.box.com/v/PreservationDistricts

In November 1992, the voters of Orange County amended the Orange County Charter by adding Section 505, which sets a procedure for annexation in areas designated by the County as preservation areas. As of June 2024, the County has adopted 8 preservation districts.

In November 2024, the voters of Orange County amended the Orange County Charter by adding Section 504, which sets for an exclusive procedure for annexation of lands located outside of a Joint Planning Area.

To learn more about this amendment and where these requirements apply, visit https://ocfl.box.com/v/ExclusiveMethodforAnnexation

Please use the link below to learn more about annexation requests that Orange County has received. All dates shown are tentative until the annexation is adopted. For additional information, or to confirm the dates provided, please contact the annexation team at 407-836-5435.

https://ocfl.box.com/v/AnnexationRequests