The lawyers representing Loudon County and Lenoir City in the city's illegal annexation have been communicating. After the telephone conversations and email communications, it appears the city wants to have a joint meeting to discuss the illegal annexation, future annexations and the expansion of the city's Urban Growth Boundary, UGB.

As the county attorney said in his email, the main top of any discussions must be the illegal annexations.

The problem is, there is no discussion or negations or compromises to the illegal annexations. The city is in violation of state law and the county/city inter-local agreement of 2005. If these illegal annexations were ever allowed to stand, the county would lose any ability to stop any of the cities from annexing, helter-skelter, all over the county. I can assure you, that the vast majority of county residents do not want to be annexed into a city and they don't want to be neighbors to city properties with their insane development policies.

I think the one thing that every official involved in this process can agree upon is, the desire not to enter into a lawsuit. Unfortunately, when you're dealing with a city government that cares nothing about the law, it leaves very few options.

Below are the communications between attorneys. 

January 3
Walter:

Per our earlier conversation, I will pass along to my Loudon County points of contact your suggestion that a special meeting of Loudon County and Lenoir City Commissions be held in early February to discuss the specific annexation issues raised and other issues that are related thereto. 

As I mentioned on the call, I am generally ok with that idea so long as we ensure that the illegal annexation of these two particular properties (Belle West Pont and WNW Properties) is kept at the forefront and the primary topic of discussion, and that Lenoir City comes to that meeting ready to discuss ways in which those illegal annexations can be addressed absent commencement of litigation by Loudon County seeking the court’s intervention and voiding of those annexations. 

The bigger discussion surrounding other annexations in the future and/or the assembly of another coordinating committee to discuss a new UGB would need to be secondary to that primary discussion.  Our position continues to be that the annexations of Belle West Pointe and WNW Properties were illegal from the outset and, accordingly, are void ab initio for all intents and purposes, notwithstanding how long ago the purported annexations took place and whatever development/infrastructure has followed those purported annexations.

To that end, please provide me with something in writing that any and all approvals or other activity residing with Lenoir City will be stayed until we are able to have a substantive meeting on the issues, and that the owners thereof will be put on notice from Lenoir City of the staying of such further activities. Our only other option is to immediately commence litigation, most likely seeking a TRO to enjoin any further activity in the interim, and I know that litigation is something that both sides would prefer to avoid if amicable resolution can be accomplished in the immediate future.

As discussed, I would like to expand my records request to include copies of any and all information that is available to you/Lenoir City relating to the circa 2005 LCUB condemnation action that you referenced relating to the Belle West Pointe parcel.  I will see what I am able to gather from Loudon County regarding any “approval” of the Loudon County Commission relating to that annexation in connection with that condemnation matter and the terms upon which you stated it was settled (i.e. agreement amongst Lenoir City, Loudon County and the Ross family as the prior owners relating to its annexation). 

I would need to have all of those documents and records requested within the next couple of weeks so that we would have adequate opportunity to prepare for an early February joint meeting, to the extent Loudon County is ok with that approach.

Also, to the extent you wish to streamline all documents/records requests relating to this matter and provide those to me to then share with Loudon County Commissioners and residents (such as Tami Purcell), that would be just fine with me. We aren’t trying to cause duplication of efforts on your end.  We simply want to get down to the underlying documents/information on the annexation of these two properties as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Thanks again for your time.  Please reply to this email with your input and responses at your earliest convenience.

Kyle A. Baisley