A Wake County Superior Court judge has nullified Wendell's involuntary annexation of 260 acres, blocking the town's effort to extend its borders closer to the new U.S. 64/264 Knightdale Bypass.

In a strongly worded ruling, Judge Abraham Penn Jones said the town had engaged in "intentional gerrymandering" in cherry-picking lots along Wendell Boulevard for annexation. The result, Jones said, was a "crazy-quilt" boundary that is not consistent with "sound urban development of a municipality."

The ruling is a victory for residents of the 152-home Bridgegate subdivision, which is just off N.C. 97. Most of the 72 plaintiffs who sued the town in June 2004 live in the subdivision. They objected to the annexation because it would mean higher taxes.

"[The town] practiced what I call bully politics," said Ray Lamb, president of the Bridgegate Homeowners Association. Lamb said his taxes would have increased $760 a year if the annexation had been approved.

Bridgegate residents receive water and sewer services from Wendell.

Town Commissioner C.B. Scarboro said the case is a legal matter and referred all questions to the town's attorney, John Tantum, who did not return calls seeking comment Thursday.

Wendell has not hidden the fact that the purpose of its annexation plan was to extend as far west and north as possible to reach valuable commercial property where the bypass and U.S. 64 Business meet. The town hired a consulting company in 2003 to conduct an annexation feasibility study with that as its stated goal.

North Carolina statutes require an involuntarily annexed area to meet certain levels of urbanization. Although the town's plan met those levels, Jones ruled that it did so by violating the spirit of the law, which is to provide municipal services to residents within compact borders.

Wes Hodges, a lawyer from Wilmington who represented the homeowners, said the case was one of the few in North Carolina in which a judge nullified an annexation because of its "shoe-string" nature.

"The area wasn't sufficiently urbanized to annex," Hodges said, noting that the town had to pick and choose properties to meet the law's requirements.

The fate of the land around the interchange where old U.S. 64 and the bypass meet is unclear.

Wendell and its western neighbor, Knightdale, are both eager to claim the land around the interchange, which is expected to be a major source of tax revenue. The towns have been unable to reach an agreement about its future.

Although Bridgegate balked at becoming part of Wendell, other property owners near the bypass have not. In April, the town annexed eight pieces of property close to the interchange.

Wendell has 30 days to appeal the ruling and can begin the annexation process anew.

Lamb said Bridgegate would fight any attempt by Wendell to annex the community.

"We feel pretty optimistic about the future," he said.