JEFFERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — Jefferson County in East Tennessee is full of beautiful open space and farmland, but in the last several years, planners said they have seen a lot of the vast green fields up for sale and subdivided by developers.
The Jefferson County Planning and Zoning Commission sensed a problem and wanted to slow the developers down for six months by placing a moratorium on any subdivision development over four lots, but they jumped the gun.
Planners were soon notified by a county lawyer that they did not have the authority to enact a moratorium. That power lies with the elected officials on the Jefferson County Commission.
“I think people are afraid that it’s going to be a runway train and we’re not gonna be able to stop it and those developments there are the ones that could really tax our system and we’re not prepared for it,” Chairman of the planning and zoning commission Terry Reneau said.
Reneau added the planning commission wanted a moratorium on subdivisions before writing their land use plan for the next 10 years to avoid a rush of developers trying to make a deadline under the misconception that they will be saving costs on the current land use plan.
“A lot of our developers used to be local people that grew up here and live here, but we’re getting more and more developers from out of county,” he said. “I always just thought the housing would be affordable, but that may not be the case anymore.”
Slowing developers down with a moratorium could have a financial ripple effect on local people trying to buy their first homes in Jefferson County, which is why their input is necessary before a moratorium is official.
The planning commission will meet on February 22 to write a formal moratorium recommendation to the Jefferson County Commission.
Reneau is expecting a public hearing regarding a temporary moratorium in early April.