About The Oak Level Community Against Forced Annexation

We are a coalition of focused and passionate neighbors. We came together through neighborhood canvasses and spontaneous meetings after we received the initial notices, in September 2008, of the City of Rocky Mount’s intent to annex us.

From there, we organized a committee representing the neighborhoods affected by the city’s plan. That group was tasked to coordinate communication and to develop an action plan for response to the proposed annexation. City officials, from the first "friendly informational meeting," have noted that the Oak Level Community Against Forced Annexation is the most passionate, organized and determined opponent to any annexation they have done.

We are fighting forced annexation in three ways; legally, legislatively and by incorporation.

We began by collecting and presenting to the City Council nearly 900 signatures on a petition opposing the annexation. We attended, in large numbers, every meeting they held about the annexation. We sought and obtained two resolutions opposing the annexation from our elected officials, the Nash County Commission. The Council authorized the annexation anyway.

We obtained the services of Robert Hornik of the Brough Law Firm of Chapel Hill. Mr. Hornik is the only attorney to have won an annexation case in the NC Supreme Court.

Working intensively with Mr. Hornik, we filed with the State to incorporate as the Town of Oak Level. This would place us out of reach of Rocky Mount’s plan to annex us. It is a strategy that has worked for other communities around the State, but we were clear-eyed about our chances with it. The powers supporting forced annexation have moved aggressively to make this a much harder prize to win. When it became evident that, even if our representatives introduced incorporation bills in both houses of the legislature as required, we could not win passage, we accepted Mr. Hornik’s advice and turned our energies toward changing the annexation law.

At the same time, we have prepared with Mr. Hornik, a Petition of Appeal of the annexation. This petition was filed in the Superior Court of Nash County on February 9, 2009. This had the immediate effect of nullifying the annexation while the case is considered by the courts. With the continuing support of our dedicated community, we are prepared to carry this effort forward through the courts at every level until we achieve victory.

During this time we have reached out across the State, forming alliances with the Fair Annexation Coalition (FAC) and StopNCAnnexation, groups of citizens effected as we have been by the current unfair and undemocratic annexation law. With them, we are working daily to educate our State legislators to change the law, giving effected citizens a right to vote any proposed annexation up or down, and doing away with forced annexation once and for all.

Thank you for visiting our website, for learning all you can, and for your support in whatever form, for our efforts. Standing together, we will make the proponents of forced annexation understand that we will not go away until this profoundly undemocratic law is changed.