Title 11 — Title 11

Election After Change in Government of Municipality. Municipal corporations now existing or hereafter organized under this title containing 2,000 or more inhabitants shall be called cities. All incorporated municipalities containing less than 2,000 inhabitants shall be called tow…

This article applies only to Class 2 municipalities. History: (Act 2017-304, §1.)

(a) The provisions of this article shall apply in any Class 2 municipality that adopts the provisions of this article to be applicable to the collection of municipal code liens as to real property, other than owner occupied property, in the municipality. (b) The provisions of thi…

2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-407, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. As used in this article, the following words and phrases have the following meanings: (1) INTERESTED PARTY. a. Includes the following parties: 1. The person who last appears as owner of the r…

Liens. (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, any fees, penalties, and abatement costs imposed against property other than owner occupied real property for violations of a Class 2 municipality’s housing and building codes adopted pursuant to the Code of Alabama 1975, may be…

(a) Any Class 2 municipality to which this article applies may proceed with judicial in rem foreclosures of municipal code liens in accordance with the provisions of this article by enactment of an ordinance or resolution of the governing authority of the Class 2 municipality in …

Act 2026-361) [Effective until October 1, 2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-361, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a) After a municipal code lien has been recorded with the office of the probate judge of the county in which the real property lies, the Class 2 mun…

(a) The Class 2 municipality shall request that a judicial hearing on the petition occur not earlier than 30 days nor more than 90 days following the filing of the petition. At the judicial hearing, any interested party shall have the right to be heard and to contest the delinque…

Amount. (Amended by Act 2026-361) [Effective until October 1, 2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-361, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a) At any point prior to the moment of the sale, any interested party may redeem the real property from the sale by payment of t…

until October 1, 2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-361, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. (a) Following the hearing and order of the court in accordance with Section 11-40- 66, the court shall cause a sale of the real property to be advertised and conducted by the…

407) [Effective until October 1, 2026.] AMENDED BY ACT 2026-407, EFFECTIVE OCTOBER 1, 2026. SEE ACT FOR REVISED LANGUAGE. Any municipal ordinance enacted pursuant to this article shall include an avenue for input by adjoining property owners to participate in the rehabilitation a…

Any city or town may change its corporate name by passing an ordinance stating the new name proposed and submitting the question of change to a vote of the qualified electors of such municipality at the next general municipal election to be held therein. The result of the electio…

The owner of any tract or body of land, located within the planning jurisdiction of any Class 2 municipality, no part of which tract or body of land is adjacent or contiguous to any public road or highway, shall have and may acquire pursuant to Article 1 of Chapter 3, Title 18, a…

The several councils of cities or towns shall divide such cities or towns into wards having as nearly as may be the same number of inhabitants, the lines thereof conforming to the center of the streets or alleys and being rectangular as far as practicable. Ward lines, having once…

This article shall apply to all municipalities in this state incorporated after 1990 which are located in a county in which another municipality in that county has zoning authority in its police jurisdiction. History: (Act 2019-251, §1.)

Authority. (a) Any municipality in this state incorporated after 1990, which is located in a county in which another municipality in that county has zoning authority in its police jurisdiction, may divide the territory within its police jurisdiction into business, industrial, and…

In the event the police jurisdiction of any municipality to which this article applies overlaps with the police jurisdiction of another municipality in the county that has zoning authority in its police jurisdiction, the governing body of each municipality may exercise the zoning…

Between Municipalities. Notwithstanding Section 11-40-82, in the overlapping areas of the police jurisdiction of the municipalities, each municipality may object to a zoning decision of the other municipality in the overlapping areas. In that case, the objecting municipality shal…

Any zoning authority authorized pursuant to this article shall be undertaken in accordance with Chapter 52 of this title. History: (Act 2019-251, §5.)

The organization of cities and towns existing at the adoption of this Code shall continue until changed in accordance with the provisions of this Code or some subsequent statute. History: (Code 1923, §1755; Code 1940, T. 37, §8.)

When the inhabitants of an unincorporated community, which has a population of not less than 300, constituting a body of citizens whose residences are contiguous to and all of which form a homogeneous settlement or community, desire to become organized as a municipal corporation,…

Ordering and Notice of Election; Contest of Election. (a) Upon the filing of the verified application with the judge of probate, the judge of probate shall give notice of the filing of the application by publication in one or more newspapers published in the county, if there are …

Except as otherwise provided by local law, municipal corporations now existing or hereafter incorporated having a population of 1,100 inhabitants or less may be dissolved as provided in this article. History: (Acts 1919, No. 517, p. 739; Code 1923, §2326; Code 1940, T. 37, §17; A…

Three-fourths of the qualified voters residing within the corporate limits of any municipal corporation having a population of 1,100 inhabitants or less may, in writing, petition to the probate judge of the county in which the same is situated for a dissolution of such corporatio…

Upon the filing of such petition, such probate judge shall set the same down for hearing and give 30 days’ notice of such hearing by written notices stating the date and purpose of such hearing, the same to be posted at the courthouse of the county and also in a public place in t…

If, upon such hearing, it appears to such probate judge that three fourths of the qualified voters of such municipal corporation are in favor of the dissolution of the same, he shall make a decree dissolving such municipal corporation, and thereupon such municipal corporation sha…

If any municipal corporation having a population of 1,100 inhabitants or less shall fail to elect a mayor or other chief executive officer for more than one year after the time fixed for such elections, shall fail to levy and collect city or town taxes or arrange to receive money…

Upon Petition. The county commission or any five qualified voters of the county in which any such corporation is situated may file with the probate judge of such county a petition in writing setting up one or more of the grounds enumerated in section 11-41-24 and praying for a de…

If, upon such hearing, it shall appear that one of the grounds of forfeiture enumerated in section 11-41-24 exists, the probate judge shall render a decree declaring such charter forfeited and such municipality dissolved, and from any decree rendered under this section any citize…

If any municipal corporation dissolved under the provisions of this article shall own any property, the title thereto shall vest in the county in which such municipal corporation is situated, but if such corporation shall owe any debts, such property shall be sold by the county c…

The probate judge shall be entitled to $5.00 for services rendered under this article, to be paid by the person or persons filing the petition. History: (Acts 1919, No. 517, p. 739; Code 1923, §2334; Code 1940, T. 37, §25.)

Qualifications for Voting. The judge of probate shall appoint three qualified electors within the limits of the proposed city or town as inspectors to manage the election, which shall be conducted under the same sanction and penalties as are provided by the general election laws,…

of Inhabitants; Issuance, Recordation, and Filing of Order of Incorporation; Filing Fee. Within five days after the election, the inspectors must certify the result to the judge of probate, who must, if a majority of the votes cast at the election are for “corporation,” cause an …

Incorporated Municipalities; Conduct of Election Generally; Qualifications for Voting. Upon making such order of incorporation, the judge of probate shall order an election to be held by the same inspectors or others appointed by him for the purpose of electing a mayor and member…

of Order Approving Report and Election Result; Vacancies; Setting Aside, Etc., of Elections; Record and Costs of Incorporation Proceedings and Elections. Within five days after such election, inspectors shall report the result of the election to the judge of probate, who may ente…

Appointment of Mayor and Councilmen for Same. Towns or cities that have permitted their organization to become dormant and inefficient may, by a petition of a majority of the taxpayers of such town or city to the probate judge, have their corporate organization reinstated by an o…

Corporate Limits. (a) In all cases prior to May 14, 2012, where there has been an attempt to organize the inhabitants of any territory as a municipal corporation under this article, and the judge of probate of the county in which the territory is situated has entered an order tha…

Any town or city may from time to time extend its corporate limits in the manner set forth in this article, but the provisions of this article shall not preclude any city or town from extending its corporate limits in any other way or manner that may be authorized by law. History…

(a) When two or more municipalities lying contiguous to each other desire to consolidate and operate as one municipality, they may do so by proceeding in the manner hereafter provided in this section. (b) If it is the purpose to annex a city or town to another municipality, then …

Organization. If municipalities desiring to consolidate wish to form a new and distinct corporate organization to be operated under the name of either one of such municipalities or a different name, the several councils, upon the filing with the mayor or chief executive officer o…

The council of any city or town that alters and rearranges its boundary lines so as to absorb two or more cities or towns may exempt from taxation for a period not exceeding five years any industrial or manufacturing plant situated in the territory added to said city or town, but…

Election of Mayor and Other Officers. (a) The mayor and one councilman from each municipality to be selected by the council shall be constituted a commission to divide such consolidated municipality into wards, and if they are unable to agree, they shall call in another person wh…

Failure of Commissioner to Act. Before entering upon the discharge of their duties, the commissioners shall take an oath before some officer authorized by law to administer oaths to faithfully and impartially discharge their duties as such commissioners. They shall be paid for th…

Qualification and Assumption of Duties of Officers Elected for Consolidated Municipalities. The officers of the several municipalities shall continue in office, and the corporate organization of the several municipalities shall continue unaffected until the officers of the consol…

Continuation of Civil Actions as to Consolidated Municipalities. (a) The consolidated city or town shall succeed to all the powers, obligations, duties, rights of action, property, and rights of property that belonged to or appertained to the municipalities consolidated and shall…

Any city or town may be annexed to and merged into a contiguous city or town in the following manner: The mayor of each city or town shall each appoint two persons, and the four persons thus appointed, with the mayor of each town, shall constitute a commission to agree upon terms…

The mayor or other head of the governing body of any city or town shall appoint the commissioners provided for in Section 11-42-120 upon the adoption of a resolution by the governing body calling for such appointment or upon the presentation of a petition to the governing body si…

Annexation and Merger. If the commission agrees upon terms of annexation and merger, such agreement shall be reduced to writing and signed in triplicate by the commissioners or a majority thereof, and one of the triplicates of the agreement shall be presented to the council or go…

If the council or governing body of each city or town confirms the agreement, then the mayor of the city or town proposed to be annexed to the other city or town shall, by proclamation, order an election to be held on a day fixed in the proclamation in his city or town, submittin…

Inspectors of election in the city or town proposed to be annexed shall be appointed and the election in all particulars held in the same manner as elections are held in such city or town for the election of municipal officers, except as changed by the provisions of this division…