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City limits orcity boundaries refer to the definedboundary orborder of acity. The area within the city limit can be called thecity proper.Town limit/boundary andvillage limit/boundary apply totowns andvillages. Similarly,corporate limit is a legal name that refers to the boundary ofmunicipal corporations. In some countries, the limit of a municipality may be expanded throughannexation.
In theUK, city boundaries are more difficult to define, and the specific concept of a city boundary as opposed to e.g. a town or borough boundary, is less useful: Britishcities are defined as any town or local authority area, regardless of area or population size, that has been grantedletters patent as aroyal prerogative. In smaller cities, such asWells (pop. approx. 10,000) orGloucester (pop. approx. 100,000), the boundary will be that governed by thecity council, though in certain cases such asCarlisle, this may include large rural and even uninhabited areas which are largely distinct from the main settlement. In the case of larger cities, such asBirmingham (pop. approx. 1,000,000), local government will be administered by ametropolitan borough but the wider metro area may also have a county or regionalcombined authority.London, the largest city, is the original model for this in the UK: almost all of the metropolitan area (known asGreater London) is governed by theGreater London Authority. However, as a regional administration its powers are limited, and the 32 boroughs plus the ancientCity of London contained within it are responsible for the majority of services.
Although British city (or borough) boundaries are often important for defining local services such as refuse collection and planning (zoning), in most places they form a low level of local government. Law enforcement, education and other services are generally defined bycounty boundaries (or larger areas), and central government is responsible for theNational Health Service (NHS Scotland orNHS Wales outside of England).
Planning (zoning) law around British cities is generally determined bygreen belt laws, which prevent building on the countryside surrounding large and medium-sized towns and cities.
In theUnited States, such limits are usually formally described in a state, provincial, or territorial law (or an appropriate regulation) as being under the control of themunicipal corporation oragency that constitutes thecity government. It is customary to indicate city limits with signs onfreeways,highways, andarterial roads.
Property within a city limit is subject to citytaxation and cityregulation, and expectscity services. Areas outside any city's limit are considered to beunincorporated, and in mostU.S. states they are by default regulated and taxed by thecounty. In others, areas outside a city's limit fall within another type oflocal government, such as thecivil township (a division of a county). Cities and towns may haveextraterritorial jurisdiction beyond their limits, typically forzoning purposes. The distance this extends varies based on the population or area of the city, or which "class" it is considered to be under state law.
Home rule within a city's limit is usually exercised by themayor (executive branch) andcity council (legislative branch). Home rule outside the city's limit is usually exercised by thecounty commission (which is often both legislative and executive), or the township'sboard of supervisors. Even without home rule, the county, as a unit ofstate government, also has certain powers and responsibilities even within the limits of its cities, including thesheriff that performsevictions, runs the countyjail that all city and countypolice departments takearrested persons to, and guards thecourthouse for the county'sstate court even though it is usually within the city limit of thecounty seat.Elections andhealth departments are also common county responsibilities which include all cities. (City residents still pay some county taxes for these reasons.)
If a city chooses to have its ownemergency services, they generally only operate within the city's limit, except formutual aid (typically amongfire departments) in case ofdisaster.Telephone companies also must keep track of changing a city's limit to ensure that calls to9-1-1 are routed to the appropriatepublic-safety answering point, if the city operates a PSAP separate from the county. Calls frommobile phones are usually routed based on the location of thebase station rather than thecalling party, so these (along withlandline calls to non-emergency telephone numbers) must be handled manually by thetelephone operator ordispatcher, determining whether the caller or incident is within a particular city limit or not so that the proper authorities may be sent.
A city's limit may extend into more than one county, which can complicate certain matters of policing and taxation. (For example,sales tax revenue collected in a city by one county may not be spent in another part of the city outside that county.) Where a city merges its government with that of its county to become aconsolidated city-county, the city limit is usually considered to be expanded to occupy all of the previously unincorporated area of the county, while other existing municipalities continue to exist but are permanently locked into their city's limit without the possibility of annexation (except possibly into a neighboring county). Anindependent city's limit separates it from being in any county at all. Similarly, cities and towns may or may not be considered part of the township[s] they are in.
City limits or boundaries in California are regulated byLocal Agency Formation Commissions (LAFCO).
City, town, and village limits are not usually coterminous with post office locations orZIP codes, and theUSPS even considers some places to be "unacceptable" for use on mail. (For example, parts ofSandy Springs within its city limit but outside 30328 must use "Atlanta, GA" instead.)School districts and otherspecial-purpose districts may be overlaid on cities, or cities may choose to have their own — however, these are often under other authorities.
A Town's limit was often aradius from atrain depot, and several still remain this way.
