Title 5, Municipal Corporations

The General Assembly finds and declares the following to be the public policy of the State of South Carolina: (1) publicly-owned property may be incorporated or annexed by a municipality as provided by the state's statutory law; however, publicly-owned property is for the benefit…

(A) After June 30, 2005, citizens of an area seeking municipal incorporation shall file an application for incorporation with the Secretary of State's office containing: (1) a petition setting out the corporate limits proposed for the municipality and the number of inhabitants re…

(A) The Joint Legislative Committee on Municipal Incorporation is created to review the petition and documentation submitted by an area seeking municipal incorporation and to make a recommendation to the Secretary of State whether the area meets the minimum service standard incor…

(A) Before issuing a corporate certificate to a proposed municipality, the Secretary of State shall determine based on the filing submitted and the recommendation of the Joint Legislative Committee on Municipal Incorporation whether the proposed municipality meets the following r…

(A) The Joint Legislative Committee on Municipal Incorporation shall return the copy of filing to the Secretary of State with a written decision of its recommendation concerning the application for municipal incorporation. (B) The Secretary of State shall provide the applicant wi…

(A)(1) After receipt of a recommendation from the Joint Legislative Committee on Municipal Incorporation, the Secretary of State shall determine whether the requirements of Section 5-1-30 have been met. If the Secretary of State determines that the requirements of Section 5-1-30 …

The managers of the election shall make their sworn returns of the result of the election to the commissioners. The returns must show the total number of those voting in the election, together with the number of those voting on each question proposed.

The commissioners shall certify the result of the election under oath to the Secretary of State, and if the result is in favor of incorporation, the Secretary of State shall issue a certificate of incorporation to the municipality and the municipality has all the privileges, powe…

Before delivery of a certificate of incorporation, the Secretary of State shall require the production of a receipt from the State Treasurer for the payment of the following incorporation fees for municipalities with a population: (1) of one thousand or less, one hundred dollars;…

The certificate of incorporation must be issued to the commissioners who immediately shall provide for the election of municipal officers pursuant to Chapter 15 and in accordance with the certificate as to form of government. Until the municipal officers are elected and qualify, …

Any city or town council may extend the corporate limits of the municipality in the manner set forth in this chapter.

If the territory proposed to be annexed belongs entirely to the municipality seeking its annexation and is adjacent thereto, the territory may be annexed by resolution of the governing body of the municipality. When the territory proposed to be annexed to the municipality belongs…

Whenever the whole or any part of any street, roadway, or highway has been accepted for and is under permanent public maintenance by a city, a county, or the Department of Transportation, that portion of any right-of-way area not exceeding the width thereof lying beyond but abutt…

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any real property which is or has been included within a multicounty park under Section 4-1-170 and title to which is held by the State of South Carolina, may be annexed only upon approval by the State Fiscal Accountability Authority.

If the entire area proposed to be annexed belongs to a corporation only, it may be annexed on the petition of the stockholders of the corporation. Upon agreement of the governing body of the municipality to accept the petition and the passage of an ordinance to that effect by the…

If the area proposed to be annexed belongs entirely to a school district, it may be annexed upon the petition of the board of trustees of the school district to the city or town council. Upon agreement of the city or town council to accept the petition and the passage of an ordin…

If the territory proposed to be annexed belongs entirely to the federal government or to the State of South Carolina and is adjacent to a municipality, it may be annexed upon the petition of the federal government or of the State to the city or town council thereof. As used in th…

No municipality may annex, under the provisions of this chapter, any real property owned by an airport district composed of more than one county without prior written approval of the governing body of the district.

(1) Any area or property which is contiguous to a municipality may be annexed to the municipality by filing with the municipal governing body a petition signed by seventy-five percent or more of the freeholders, as defined in Section 5-3-240, owning at least seventy-five percent …

An area in this State located more than twelve miles from the Atlantic Ocean, which is a peninsula being predominately industrial in character, separating a freshwater reservoir from a body of brackish water subject to tidal influences, and created by the construction of a manmad…

No municipality may annex, under the provisions of this chapter, any real property owned by a professional sports team as defined in Section 12-6-3360(M)(17) without prior written consent of the professional sports team.

When an annexation election is defeated either by the voters inside the municipality concerned or within the territory proposed to be annexed, or both, another annexation election within the territory proposed to be annexed shall not be initiated within a period of twenty-four mo…

Except when the procedures for an annexation provided for in Sections 5-3-100, 5-3-110, 5-3-120, 5-3-130, 5-3-140, and 5-3-150 are followed, the assessed value of real property of any single freeholder to be annexed, as defined in Section 5-3-240, shall not at the time of a propo…

For the purposes of Sections 5-3-150, 5-3-280, and 5-3-300, a "freeholder" is defined as any person eighteen years of age, or older, and any firm or corporation, who or which owns legal title to a present possessory interest in real estate equal to a life estate or greater (expre…

Any municipality may extend its corporate limits so as to include any or all cemeteries adjoining the municipality, for the purposes only of police and sanitary measures, by the passage of an ordinance declaring them to be a portion of the municipality. But the inclusion of these…

Any area owned entirely by an established church or religious group which is contiguous to a municipality may be annexed to the municipality upon the petition of the governing body of the church or religious group being submitted to the governing body of a municipality. Upon agre…

When the limits of a municipality are ordered extended, no contest thereabout shall be allowed unless the person interested therein files, within sixty days after the result has been published or declared, with both the clerk of the municipality and the clerk of court of the coun…

Whenever a petition is presented to a city or town council signed by a majority of the resident freeholders of the municipality asking for a reduction of the corporate limits of the city or town, the council shall order an election after not less than ten days' public advertiseme…

Territory proposed to be removed from within the corporate limits of a municipality which is owned entirely by that municipality may be removed from within the corporate limits by ordinance of the governing body of the municipality. Territory proposed to be removed from within th…

The word "municipality" as used in this chapter shall be construed to mean any incorporated city or town located within this State.

When two or more municipal corporations propose to consolidate, no petition shall be required and each municipal corporation desiring to consolidate may call for the election hereinafter provided by ordinance.

(A) In addition to other methods of annexation authorized by this chapter, any area which is contiguous to a municipality may be annexed to the municipality by the filing of a petition with the council signed by twenty-five percent or more of the qualified electors who are reside…

For purposes of this chapter, "contiguous" means property which is adjacent to a municipality and shares a continuous border. Contiguity is not established by a road, waterway, right-of-way, easement, railroad track, marshland, or utility line which connects one property to anoth…

When all or part of the area of a special purpose district as defined in Section 6-11-1610 or a special taxing district created pursuant to Section 4-9-30 or Section 4-19-10, et seq. or an assessment district created pursuant to Chapter 15 of Title 6, or any other special purpose…

The plan contemplated by Sections 5-3-300 through 5-3-315 may be formulated by agreement of the district and the annexing municipality. If, however, the district and municipality do not agree on such a plan within ninety days following a favorable vote at the last referendum elec…

The plan formulated under Sections 5-3-300 through 5-3-315 shall seek to balance the equities and interests of the residents and taxpayers of the annexed area and of the area of the district not annexed. The plan may be formulated with regard to any factors bearing on such balanc…

The auditor and treasurer of the county or counties in which the annexed area is located shall take such action as is appropriate to conform with the plan finally established pursuant to the terms of Sections 5-3-300 through 5-3-315, including releasing or adjusting any levy of d…

In no event under any plan or otherwise may the obligation between the district and its general obligation bondholders or, in the case of a special tax or assessment district, the obligation between the district and the holders of the county bonds issued on its behalf, be disturb…

Any district affected by the proposed annexation may conduct a public hearing within sixty days prior to the required election. The district must give at least fourteen days' notice of the time and place of this public hearing in a newspaper of general circulation within the area…

Whenever it is proposed to extend the corporate limits of any municipality by inclusion of territory of another adjacent municipality in whole or in part, the governing bodies of the municipalities may, after public hearing, stipulate and agree upon terms of consolidation or boun…

Any municipality increasing its territory shall file a notice with the Secretary of State, Department of Transportation, and the Department of Public Safety describing its new boundaries. The notice shall include a written description of the boundary, along with a map or plat whi…

The forms of municipal government in this State shall be as follows: (a) the mayor-council form provided for in Chapter 9; (b) the council form provided for in Chapter 11; (c) the council-manager form provided for in Chapter 13. All municipalities shall adopt one of these forms i…

After the date of official council action if a petition executed by fifteen percent of the qualified electors is presented to the municipal governing body, certified by the county election commission, for an election to determine or change the form of government or if the municip…

Until changed by an election, the selection of the form of government as initially determined by the governing body by ordinance shall remain effective. The ordinance selecting the form of government shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State who shall issue an approp…

In any election to determine a change of a form of government of a municipality, the question must be framed by the governing body and printed on the prepared ballot in the following form: "Shall the municipality of (name of municipality) change its form of government from (form …

Notice of all special elections relating to a change in form of government shall be published at least three weeks in advance in a newspaper of general circulation in the municipality in which such election is to be held. The municipality shall pay all expenses incurred in the co…