Assistant City Attorney Jeremy McKenzie said the city could not acquire land in Mount Pleasant, but it could annex property from the nearby Town of Yorkville.

“It’s a bit of a long shot,” he said, “but it is, technically, legally possible.”

The typical path for annexation involves seeking property in a contiguous community, which is not applicable to Bauman’s goals.

A state statute, McKenzie said, provides a legal path for a city to annex land from a town that is near it, although the law does not define “near.” The city would have to own the land, which must be in a town — not a city or a village like Mount Pleasant.

The town where that land is located would have to approve a resolution that agrees to the annexation, McKenzie said. Because Bauman has suggested annexing land outside Milwaukee County, the Racine County Board also would have to approve the move, McKenzie said.

Should all of those steps occur, he said Milwaukee and the Town of Yorkville would also have to establish a boundary agreement.

“There is a path,” McKenzie said. “It is a very narrow path.”