County challenges more annexatio

Loudon County is turning up the heat on Lenoir City over the annexation of property outside the urban growth boundary.

Kyle A. Baisley, an attorney with Long, Ragsdale & Waters, P.C., a Knoxville law firm representing the county, sent a letter Dec. 21 to Lenoir City Mayor Tony Aikens and other city officials. The letter names and identifies parcel numbers of properties owned by Belle West Pointe LLC and WNW Properties LLC.

“This letter shall serve as notice that Loudon County challenges the legality of the city of Lenoir City’s annexation of the aforementioned properties, as neither property was annexed in conformity with applicable Tennessee law,” according to the letter.

An interlocal agreement between the county and Lenoir City requires any annexation must meet specific requirements and be approved by Loudon County Commission.

The issue emerged late last year following Lenoir City’s annexation of about 24 acres off State Highway 70. The property, which is located outside the UGB, is owned by Dan Smith, a Greenback resident who said he wanted to improve the value of the property through annexation.

Residents of adjacent property protested the annexation, which could have set a precedent for parcels outside the UGB. Guidelines for such annexations were stipulated in the 2005 interlocal agreement and include that the property be contiguous to land inside city limits. Any annexed land must also be owned by the same entity.

The letter from the county includes a reference to other property in the same area not discussed previously that was annexed by Lenoir City in 2020.

“This letter shall also serve as warning to the city of Lenoir City, and to the owners of both properties at issue by copy of this correspondence, that any improvements made or to be made following the date of this letter, including those relating to infrastructure to support high-density development allowed by the city of Lenoir City and prohibited by Loudon County, in reliance on the illegal annexations that were void ab initio are at risk, as said improvements may be entirely unnecessary for or useless in connection with the more limited development allowed by Loudon County,” according to the letter.

Van Shaver, Loudon County commissioner for District 5 in which the land in question is located, said not only is the current Dan Smith/WNW annexation illegal, the adjoining property, Belle West Pointe, was annexed illegally in 2020.

“Both parcels, according to the state and local urban growth boundary, UGB maps, are and were outside the Lenoir City UGB preventing annexation without going through the proper procedures,” Shaver said.

The letter proposes attorneys for both sides begin discussions on deannexation to avoid litigation.

“In an effort to preserve Loudon County’s and the city of Lenoir City’s time, energy and resources, I would propose a meeting between representatives of the city of Lenoir City and Loudon County in the immediate future to discuss a way in which the properties at issue may undergo the deannexation process at the direction of the city of Lenoir City and outside litigation commenced by Loudon County to accomplish the same outcome by court order,” Baisley wrote in his letter.

Baisley could not be reached for comment.

Shaver said Lenoir City’s attorney responded to the county attorney for setting a date to discuss the matter. He said they plan to meet the first week in January.