Prior to the year 2000, cities and counties all over the state stayed in constant legal battles over annexation. Every little city was always trying to forcibly annex county properties into their cities. This was the fastest way for city's to grow their tax base and take in immediate new property tax revenues. In most cases, county property owners would object to the forced annexations and many times the counties would have to go to court to stop the cities take overs.

Then came Public Chapter 1101. This was a new state law that was hoped would put an end to all the annexation fights. Every city, working with the counties had to develop what was called their Urban Growth Boundary, UGB. After the adoption of the UGB, a city could only annex property within their UGB for as long as the PC 1101 law was still on the books, and it still is.

Lenoir City officials first violated the PC 1101 law back in 2003 which led to the county filing a lawsuit against the city back then. That lawsuit resulted in a settlement where the 2005 interlocal agreement was adopted by both the city and county. In the current instant, the city has also violated that agreement. What Lenoir City has done now, first in 2020 and now in 2022, was to annex property outside their UGB in stark violation of the PC 1101 law and the 2005 interlocal agreement between the city and county. It's just that simple. They can't hide from that fact. That's why, not one of their lawyers, ever mentioned the PC 1101 law. No new laws have been written or amended that allows these annexations.

Developers would much rather be located within the city limits, under city zoning regulations, than county zoning regulations. In the city, the highest residential density is 24 units per acre. In the county the highest residential density is 2 units per acre. If a property is located within the city's UGB, the owner can request annexation and there's nothing the county can do about it. This is why we've seen many of these mass developments protruding into the county.

If a developer or property owner owns property outside the UGB, that property CAN NOT be annexed into the city unless the UGB is expanded to include those properties. Expansion of the UGB requires the county to agree. In the case of the Belle West and WNW, no attempt to expand the UGB was ever even attempted by the city. Thereby, both annexations are illegal.

As I have stressed in previous stories, these illegal annexations won't just effect a small area and number of people in the Eaton Crossroads neighborhood. If these illegal annexations are allowed to stand, there will be nothing to stop the city annexing thousands of acres all over the county bringing their urban sprawl to all areas of the county north of the Tennessee River.

On Monday, February 6th, the Loudon County commission will take a vote to file a lawsuit against Lenoir City to have the illegal annexations nullified through the courts. If you are are concerned about the city's mass land grabs, you may want to let your concerns be known. 

It stops here and now or it never stops.