Loudon Stretch?
| Ever since Walton Tennessee LLC. bought the 400 acres
in Hotchkiss Valley, there have been rumors that some how, Loudon might
try to annex the property into the city. Problem is, the property is way
over a mile from the nearest Loudon City limits and the property isn't
even in the Loudon Urban Growth Boundary, UGB, preventing the property
from ever being annexed into the city, without the county's approval.
Now apparently, someone thinks they have come up with a wild plan to actually get the property into the city. Note on the map above, the 400 acres owned by Walton Tennessee LLC in blue on the north side of interstate 75. Then note the little parcel of property, in red, on the south side of Interstate 75. Last week, Walton Tennessee LLC, bought the 4.9 acre parcel from Fowler Holdings, Don Fowler, for $75,000.00. As the story goes, now that they own that small parcel, Walton Tennessee LLC could ask Loudon to annex the 4.9 acres into the city, since it's in their UGB. This is possible, but under state law, the county would have to be involved and the two governments would have to enter into an inter-local agreement. Then if the small parcel were annexed into the city, Walton Tennessee LLC could claim that since they own the property on the other side of the interstate, the 4.9 acres on the south side and the 400 acres on the north side would be contagious and could request that Loudon's UGB be expanded to the 400 acres then annexed into the city . That would be a stretch, but we know what length developers will go to bring in mass developments. Here's the big problem with their plan. They would claim the 4.9 acre and the 400 acre are contiguous, meaning the boundaries are touching, even though the two parcels are separated by 700' with Interstate 75, and Hotchkiss Valley Road between them. Contiguous Defined:
Another problem Loudon would face is providing services to that area. As stated before, the nearest point of city limits to the Hotchkiss Valley are a way more than a mile. The nearest sewer is even further away. On top of that, the valley already has water service provided by Watts Barr Utilities out of Roane County. Then finally, the biggest obstacle of all, the residents of the valley and the county would oppose such an expansion by the city by all means possible. I don't know if there's really anyone seriously considering this plan in Loudon City government, but Walton Tennessee LLC has spent $75,000.00 on the idea. We shall see. |
BACK
3/20/23