Case Summaries 
of Importance to Counties

2011 Annexation

• City of Harriman v. Roane County Election Commission, 36 TAM 25-1—City of Harriman submitted an amendment to its urban growth boundary to the coordinating committee in order to annex a part of Midtown.  The coordinating committee took no action on the proposed amendment.  City of Harriman then passed an ordinance annexing the Midtown territory.  At the same time, the City of Kingston held a referendum in which voters approved Kingston’s annexation of the same Midtown territory.  The City of Harriman sued.  The Chancery Court found that Harriman’s ordinance was invalid.  The Court of Appeals reversed.  The Supreme Court, in this case, reversed the Court of Appeals.  The Supreme Court found that under the statutes, cities may only annex territory by ordinance if such territory is within the city’s urban growth boundary.  Thus, the City of Harriman had to amend its urban growth boundary to include the Midtown territory before the City could annex the territory by ordinance.  Cities may, however, annex territory outside their urban growth boundaries by referendum, which is the method used by the City of Kingston.  The Court found the City of Harriman’s ordinance to be invalid and the City of Kingston’s referendum to be valid (June 9, 2011).