Cities And Housing Archive

A structure is a structure is a structure

Basically, what happens is that you place your hall, your city forms, and you enable zoning. That means that no one else can place *new* structures without your permission (granting zoning rights). Present structures are unaffected in this manner. However, they can be taxed, once you have placed your city hall, which does affect them in terms of maintenance (property tax), and any income tax you charge will start affecting the people who live in those homes as well.

You may want to check with the people living there already about how adverse they might be to a new city springing up around them. It's entirely possible that if those people outnumber you and your friends who are coming in to make a city, that they could vote you back out of office, if they feel it is a 'hostile takeover' of their territory. And, also, it's just polite to ask.