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The Georgia Township Act is a bill introduced in January 2007 in the Georgia General Assembly, which would for the first time create "townships" in the US state of Georgia. ==Overview== It would give unincorporated areas of at least 500 acres (approximately two square kilometers or 0.8 square miles) the power to regulate zoning and other land use, and to levy a maximum annual property tax of a half-mill (0.5‰), managed by a board of supervisors selected in nonpartisan elections in odd-numbered years. All other services and laws would remain the responsibility of the county. The bill would also require a population density of 200 persons per square mile (77.22/km², or one person per 3.2 acres), and that at least 10% of the included area be zoned or used for non-residential purposes. It would also allow for the contracting of public utilities and public services, though the bill which passed the state senate added the exception of cable TV. Local legislation would be required to create a township or convert it to a municipality. A referendum would also be required, as well for the township to be annexed by a municipality. Deannexation by a township could be done by a vote of the board of supervisors if a landowner makes such a request, but it may not bring the township below the minimum requirements. Annexation may not be done solely down the length of a right of way, such as to make an annexation contiguous. An additional requirement added to the final senate bill requires the township to notify the county of any requests for rezoning or new subdivisions, or proposed changes in the land use plan or regulations and ordinances. The county has ten business days to respond with its opinions and concerns and any proposed solutions, which must be made part of the township's public record and must be considered by the board prior to making a final decision. The township's final decision must then be forwarded back to the county. This procedure also applies to adjoining municipalities and townships, but not to other counties. It also applies in reciprocal, with adjoining cities or the county notifying the township of changes which might affect it. A township may be in more than one county. Counties may create special service districts at the request of a township. While the bill explicitly states that a "township" would not be a municipality, the definitions set forth in the law make it nearly identical in function to villages or hamlets in some other states, including neighboring North Carolina and Florida, where they are the lowest level of a three-tiered system of municipalities. One major factor in this comparison is that, unlike most minor civil divisions, the proposed areas would be very small in size, and together would not cover the entire or even a large part of a county. The other major factor is the fact that, like any municipality, they would not be subject to involuntary annexation by nearby cities (which for several decades have been the only type of municipality allowed under the Georgia State Constitution). The township designation may therefore be in order to avoid a broader and hence more complicated and politically charged overhaul of local government classifications in the state. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Georgia Township Act」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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