Is there a legal time limit within which a city is required to provide services to annexed areas?
"Yes, under Chapter 43.056 of the Texas Local Government Code, the City is required to provide most city services (police protection, fire protection, solid waste collection, operation and maintenance of roads and streets, and access to city-owned recreation facilities and parks) immediately upon annexation. The City is also required to prepare a service plan to provide for the extension of municipal services to the area being annexed. The City will strive to provide services at a level of service similar to that which the City currently extends to any other similarly situated areas already within the City (based generally on characteristics of topography, land use, and population density).
In instances where services are deemed to be below an acceptable level of service ("below acceptable" being less than the level of services currently provided to any other similarly situated area already within the city), those services should be provided by the City within 2 years after the effective annexation date, unless it is determined that 2 years is not a reasonable period of time to provide services. If services cannot reasonably be provided within 2 years, the City must prepare a plan to provide such services within 4 years with any capital improvements being "substantially complete" by the end of that 4 year time frame. "
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it"