(a) The residents of any unincorporated territory that it is desired to incorporate shall have the right to adopt chapters 30-36 of this title in the manner provided in these chapters; and thereafter such territory shall be and become incorporated and be governed as set forth in these chapters. No unincorporated territory shall be incorporated under chapters 30-36 of this title unless such territory contains not less than five thousand (5,000) persons, who shall be actual residents of the territory.
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Terms Used In Tennessee Code 6-30-103

  • County: means the county in which any such city or territory to be incorporated under chapters 30-36 of this title is located, or in which the major portion of the population of any such city or territory to be incorporated is located as indicated by the last federal census. See Tennessee Code 6-30-102
  • Property: includes both personal and real property. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories of the United States. See Tennessee Code 1-3-105
(b) No unincorporated territory shall be incorporated within three (3) miles of an existing municipality or within five (5) miles of an existing municipality of one hundred thousand (100,000) or more in population, according to the latest census certified by the department of economic and community development. “Existing municipality” and “existing municipality of one hundred thousand (100,000) or more in population” do not include any county with a metropolitan form of government with a population of one hundred thousand (100,000) or more, according to the latest census certified by the department of economic and community development.
(c) Notwithstanding subsection (a) or (b) to the contrary, a territory may be incorporated if the following conditions are fulfilled:

(1) The territory contains two hundred twenty-five (225) residents or more;
(2) The territory is composed of property that is one thousand six hundred feet (1,600′) or more above sea level on the western border of the territory and contiguous with a county boundary on the eastern border of the territory;
(3) The territory is located within an area that is bordered on the west, north and east by the Tennessee River and on the south by the border between Tennessee and another state; and
(4) The territory is located within a metropolitan statistical area.
(d) Notwithstanding subsections (a)-(c) to the contrary, a territory may be incorporated that meets the following conditions:

(1) The territory contains three hundred (300) residents or more;
(2) The territory’s western boundary is contiguous with the western boundary of the county in which it is located;
(3) The territory is located within an area bordered on the north by the Loosahatchie River and on the south by the Wolf River;
(4) The territory’s eastern boundary is approximately parallel with the western boundary, but in no place is more than eight (8) miles from the western boundary; and
(5) The territory is located within a metropolitan statistical area.
(e) Notwithstanding the requirements of § 6-30-106, or any other law to the contrary, the petition for incorporation of the territory described in this section may consist of a letter from a resident of the territory desiring to incorporate to the county election commission requesting that the question of incorporating the territory be placed on the ballot. The letter shall describe the exact boundaries of the proposed municipality, indicate the name of the proposed municipality, and indicate under which charter the territory desires to incorporate. The letter shall be treated as a petition meeting all the requirements of law.
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