Tennessee Zoning Enabling Act — Procedural & Vested-Rights Floor (TN)

Tracked preemption from the Tennessee overlay bundle.

Overview

Effective
1935-01-01
Sunset
Authority
state
Scope
state:TN

Trigger predicate

When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.

always true

Preempted fields

3 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.

FieldOpValueNote
zoning_decision_procedure.requires_planning_commission_recommendationoverrideTrue§13-7-203: planning commission recommendation required before enactment/amendment
zoning_decision_procedure.public_notice_min_daysfloor_at15§13-7-105: 15-day published notice prior to public hearing
nonconforming_use.industrial_commercial_protectionoverrideTrue§13-7-208: lawfully established industrial/commercial use cannot be terminated by subsequent zoning change absent discontinuance

Citation

Authority source
Tenn. Code Ann. §§13-7-101 through 13-7-115 (Municipal Zoning Enabling Act); §§13-7-201 through 13-7-210 (County Zoning Enabling Act)
§ §§13-7-101 et seq. and §§13-7-201 et seq.
https://law.justia.com/codes/tennessee/title-13/chapter-7/part-1/

Research notes

Dillon's-Rule enabling act. TN municipalities have no inherent zoning power — authority derives from §13-7-101. Counties zone unincorporated territory only (§13-7-201(a)) and may not regulate bona fide farms (§13-7-201(b)(2) agricultural exemption). Metro governments (Davidson/Nashville, Trousdale/Hartsville, Moore/Lynchburg) combine municipal and county authority. §13-7-208 is the most-litigated municipal-liability vector — Lamar Tenn. v. City of Knoxville (Tenn. Ct. App.) and progeny.