WILLIAM DONALD SCHAEFER, Governor                        Ch. 5

21.

Twenty per centum or more of the persons within any
particular area in a county who are registered to vote in county
elections, together with the owners of not less than twenty-five
per centum (25%) of the assessed valuation of the real property
of the area to be incorporated, may initiate a proposal to
incorporate that area as a municipal corporation, by a petition
presented to the board of county commissioners or to the county
council of the county. Each person signing the petition shall
indicate thereon both his name and residence address and the
location and assessed valuation of his property. Upon receiving
the petition, the board of county commissioners or county council
is directed to verify that any person who signed it is a resident
of the particular area and is registered to vote in county
elections, and/or is an owner of real property within the area to
be incorporated, and shall consider the petition of no effect if
it is signed by fewer than twenty per centum of the persons from
that area who are registered to vote in county elections, or by
persons owning less than twenty-five per centum (25%) of said
real property. If the petition complies with the requirements of
this section, the board or the council shall by resolution,
passed as in its normal legislative procedure, specify the day
and the hours for the election at which the question of
incorporation shall be submitted to the voters of the particular
area, or reject the referendum request within 60 days of the
petition requirements having been met. If the board or council
rejects the referendum request, the board or council shall
provide in writing and make available to the general public the
reasons for rejecting the referendum request. The board or
council shall establish reasonable procedures by which
reconsideration of a referendum request denial can be undertaken,
including an opportunity for a public hearing with sufficient
advance public notice. Upon completion of this hearing and
review process, the board or council shall, by resolution, affirm
its previous action or grant the referendum request.

If the resolution to grant a referendum is approved, there
shall be [at] a special election, within a period of not less
than forty days nor more than sixty days after the passage of the
resolution. In that portion of the resolution which provides for
submitting the question of incorporation to the voters of the
particular area, the exact wording shall be specified which is to
be placed on the ballots or voting machines at the time of the
referendum.

The petition when so filed shall then become the property of
the board of county commissioners or the county council, and
shall not thereafter be used for the purposes of initiating
further referenda thereon.

No municipal corporation shall be created under the
provisions of this subtitle without the specific approval of the

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