Any locality may by ordinance, or any two or more localities may by concurrent ordinances, create service districts within the locality or localities in accordance with the provisions of this article. Service districts may be created to provide additional, more complete or more timely services of government than are desired in the locality or localities as a whole.

Any locality seeking to create a service district shall have a public hearing prior to the creation of the service district. Notice of such hearing shall be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation within the locality, with the first notice appearing no more than 21 days before the hearing.

Code 1950, § 15-8.2; 1962, c. 581, § 15.1-18.2; 1981, c. 631, § 15.1-18.3; 1982, c. 96; 1984, c. 385; 1985, c. 150; 1987, cc. 61, 80, 82; 1988, c. 402; 1989, c. 3; 1990, cc. 44, 515; 1991, cc. 12, 29; 1992, cc. 232, 655; 1993, c. 744; 1994, c. 166; 1996, cc. 99, 430, 844; 1997, c. 587; 2000, cc. 853, 925; 2023, cc. 506, 507.