At last week's Lenoir City Planning Commission meeting, item #6 was a recommendation from planning to institute a 12 month moratorium on any new apartments or multi-family dwellings to be approved in the city while the planning commission studies to matter to see if the city has enough apartments and multi-family dwellings. This recommendation should be on tonight's, 6/10, city council agenda. No agenda available.

Aside from from overwhelming opposition to Aikens policies of build anything, anywhere, any time, from the vast majority of city residents, councilman,  Todd Kennedy, has continued to call for a study on the city's zoning policies and has vowed to oppose and vote against any additional R-3 (high density)  rezone requests coming before the council. Kennedy has followed through on his promise and has voted NO, multiple times to high density requests coming before council, defying Aikens wishes. Once again proving one man can make a difference.

But before anyone thinks Aikens has seen the light, more needs to be known. The moratorium would only be on apartments and multi-family. It does not include R-3, 24 units per acre zoning. Meaning, high density single family developments are still permitted. The moratorium will not effect any rezones or plats already approved. This means, the more than 5,000 already approved single family, multi-family and apartments can proceed. 

Now, let's be real, the moratorium has nothing to do with Aikens being concerned with over development, it has everything to do with Aikens concern with the November election, in my opinion. Aikens knows he's in grave political trouble with voters. He knows if almost anyone runs against him for the city mayor's seat, he will lose. Aikens is politically savvy. He knows how to read political tea leaves. Back in March he gave it his all to get his candidate elected to county commission and lost by a 66%-34% margin. Then came the Aikens special sales tax election which was a watershed moment for Aikens politically. He put everything he had into getting the sales tax increase passed and it failed by a 68%-32% margin. Aikens political clout has vanished.

While the moratorium is slated for 12 months, my guess is, that if Aikens runs unopposed and gets re-elected, the moratorium will be over by the end of the year.

Aikens has always underestimated the intelligence of voters. He really thinks if he comes out now, 6 months before the election, and says, we may have too many apartments, voter will say, oh boy, Aikens is on our side now, let's elect him for four more years. I'm sorry, way too little way too late.

If there's any doubt the proposed moratorium is purely political, here's a little more evidence. Lenoir City councilman, Eddie Simpson, who also serves on the city planning commission and who is also up for re-election in November, made the motion to approve the moratorium. Simpson stated, he had been instrumental in coming up with the moratorium idea. He said he was one of the ones who wanted more and more roof tops and he didn't think there were enough but he had hoped for more to get a new restaurant. Yeah, I didn't understand that either. Simpson has voted for all of the mass over development twice, on planning and on council.

If Aikens, Simpson, Jennifer Wampler and Mike Henline are re-elected in November, Lenoir City as we've known it will cease to exist.

Nothing will ever change in Lenoir City until something changes in Lenoir City.

Proposed Ordinance Below.