Municipal Government

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Changes to Deannexation Rules for Agricultural Land

This bill changes Tennessee's rules about deannexing agricultural land from cities or towns.

What This Bill Does

• Allows owners of farmland that was annexed by a city without their permission to ask the city to remove it from the city limits if certain conditions are met.
• Changes one condition so that farmland under a permanent conservation agreement can be deannexed even if it would create an unincorporated area surrounded by the city.
• Expands who qualifies as the original owner of the land, now including businesses where majority ownership is held by people who were originally eligible or their direct descendants.

Who It Names or Affects

• Owners of agricultural property that was annexed without a referendum or request from them
• Cities and towns in Tennessee

Terms To Know

deannexation

The process of removing land from the jurisdiction of a city or town.

conservation easement

A legal agreement that permanently limits the use of land to protect its conservation values.

Limits and Unknowns

• This bill did not pass in the current session.
• The exact impact on local communities is unclear without further details about how often these situations occur.

Official Summary Text

Present law authorizes o
wners of real property used primarily for agricultural purposes who reside in a territory previously annexed by ordinance that was not annexed through a referendum or a request of the property owner
to
petition the municipality to deannex such property, if
(i) the
deannexation of the property does not create an area of unincorporated territory that is completely surrounded by municipal boundaries; and
(ii) the
owner of some or all
of the property at the time the petition is made is the same owner or owners
as when the property was annexed or a direct descendant

of the person who owned the property at the time of annexation.

This bill revises condition (i) above by excluding such real property that is under a permanent conservation easement and revises con
dition (ii) above by including a business in which the majority ownership is held by individuals who qualify under this bill as the same owner or owners when the property was annexed or direct descendants of the person who owned the property at the time o
f
annexation.

Current Bill Text

SENATE BILL 1386
By Watson

HOUSE BILL 180
By Moody

HB0180
001704
- 1 -

AN ACT to amend Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 6-
51-201, relative to deannexation.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE:
SECTION 1. Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 6-51-201(c)(1), is amended by
deleting the subdivision and substituting instead:
(1) Owners of real property used primarily for agricultural purposes who reside in
a territory previously annexed by ordinance that was not annexed through a referendum
or a request of the property owner may petition the municipality to deannex such
property, if:
(A) The deannexation of the property does not create an area of
unincorporated territory that is completely surrounded by municipal boundaries,
except for such real property that is under a permanent conservation easement;
and
(B) The owner of some or all of the property at the time the petition is
made is:
(i) The same owner or owners as when the property was
annexed;
(ii) A direct descendant of the person who owned the property at
the time of annexation. As used in this subdivision (c)(1)(B)(ii), "direct
descendant" means a child, grandchild, or sibling; or
(iii) A business in which the majority ownership is held by
individuals who qualify under subdivision (c)(1)(B)(i) or (c)(1)(B)(ii).

- 2 - 001704

SECTION 2. This act takes effect upon becoming a law, the public welfare requiring it.