Town of Oxford v. Koste, 42 A.3d 637

Oxford annexation Resolution No.1001 aimed to annex 142 acres of submerged lands; required notices and a public hearing under Art. 23A §19(d); final enactment occurred on 11/10/2009.
Petition for referendum filed 12/22/2009 seeking suspension of the resolution under Art. 23A §19(g); petition showed 177 verified signatures with 616 voters total.
Election Board found only 62 signatures post-final enactment; 115 pre-enactment signatures, including 83 pre-hearing signatures.
Koste filed suit 5/1/2010 seeking declaration that all 177 signatures were valid and at least 20% of voters; trial court granted summary judgment in favor of Koste, suspending the resolution pending referendum.
Court of Special Appeals held that the 45-day circulation window limits petitioning and that pre-enactment signatures cannot be counted; reversed and remanded for declaratory judgment consistent with opinion.
Procedural posture: circuit court granted summary judgment; appellate court reversed.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether § 19(g) permits counting pre-enactment petition signatures.	Koste argues pre-enactment signatures can count towards the 20% threshold.	Oxford contends signatures must be gathered within 45 days after final enactment.	Pre-enactment signatures may not be counted; 45-day window is a circulation restriction.

Mayor & Town Council of Oakland v. Mayor & Town Council of Mountain Lake Park, 392 Md. 301 (Md. 2006) (discussion of 45-day period and referendum process)
Selinger v. Governor, 266 Md. 431 (Md. 1972) (limits on referendum timing)
Ibarra v. City of Carson, 214 Cal. App. 3d 90 (Cal. Dist. Ct. App. 2nd) (pre-notice circulation rationale in referendum petitions)
Tobias v. South Jordan City Recorder, 972 P.2d 373 (Utah 1998) (short statutory timetable for signatures in local referenda)