Court sides with quarry operator in ruling

Becca J. G. Godwin news-herald.net

In a dispute over the operation of a limestone quarry on a property known as Hutton Farm, a court has ruled against the town of Greenback and the Loudon County Regional Planning Commission.

The disagreement had resulted in lawsuits filed in the spring by entities on both sides of the issue.

In a complaint filed on April 22, the town and Planning Commission sued the limited liability companies M& M Stone Farms, which owns the property on Hutton Road, and Tri-County Crushed Stone, the quarry operator. The complaint stated that in January the property was zoned as M1 Light Industrial District, under which the mining and quarrying of natural mineral resources isn’t a permitted use.

And in a complaint filed on April 24, M& M and Tri-County sued the town of Greenback. That complaint summarized that Greenback officials imposed municipal zoning upon the plaintiffs’ property without providing them with constitutionally

required notice and an opportunity to be heard.

BACKSTORY AND PROPERTY LOCATION

According to that complaint, which named Rodney Murphy as the president of Tri-County and owner of a land development company called Murphy Bobcat (sic), Murphy became interested in the property in 2021.

The land is located just off of Highway 95 — a long, curvy two-lane road that stretches between highways 411 and 321 and swings through downtown Greenback. Part of Murphy’s interest in the land was for its potential use as a quarry, which many in the town strongly opposed.

The lawsuit against Greenback asked that the court declare invalid the ordinance that zoned the property as M1. It also asked that the court “enter a permanent injunction to enjoin the Town from interfering with the plaintiffs’ rights to use the property for agricultural purposes and quarrying,” among other requests.

The lawsuit against the limited liability companies, among other demands, called for the court to enter a permanent injunction “preventing the defendants or anyone else in concert and participation with them from conducting rock quarry activities or anything else on the Subject Property that is not permitted in the applicable zoning laws.”

DAY IN COURT FOR GREENBACK, OTHERS

The matter came before the Court for a hearing on Oct. 30, according to an order from the Chancery Court for Loudon County.

“Based upon the cross-motions for summary judgment, the responses thereto, the statements of undisputed facts, the legal memoranda filed by the parties, the argument of counsel and the entire record, the Court was of the opinion that the motion for summary judgment filed by M& M Stone Farms, LLC and Tri-County Crushed Stone, LLC was well-taken and should be granted and that the motion for summary judgment filed by the Town of Greenback and the Loudon County Planning Commission was not well-taken and should be denied,” the ruling said.

“In particular, the Court found that there is no dispute as to any material fact and that M& M Stone Farms, LLC and Tri-County Crushed Stone, LLC are entitled to judgment as a matter of law that the subject property is unzoned.”

The order declared that costs are taxed to Greenback and the Planning Commission.

As of Nov. 5, a decision hadn’t yet been made about an appeal. Attorneys have 30 days from the date of the entry of the order to file a notice of appeal.