Knoxville, Tennessee witnessed a novel approach to municipal zoning last year. A new County Commissioner – in a district flagged as a future mixed-use hub – filed multiple resolutions on behalf of the commission in an attempt to avoid development by downzoning several properties without the owners’ knowledge or consent. The East Tennessee REALTORS® did not agree with this in principle or in practice and turned to the REALTOR® Party’s Land Use Initiative (LUI) program for expert back-up. Their instinct was correct, and the resulting legal report was instrumental in denying passage of the unconventional effort.
The REALTOR® Party retains the legal services of Robinson & Cole, LLC, to review and analyze proposed legislation submitted to the Land Use Initiative program. Maria McHale, Governmental Affairs & Policy Director for East Tennessee REALTORS®, is a big fan. “LUI is a fantastic program; we use it frequently. It saves us hours of research and grants access to professional legal services at the highest level, which would be thousands of dollars’ worth of work.”
This instance was more a matter of education than a battle, she notes. “The LUI adds form, structure, and research-based credibility to our position. It equips us with background to give relevant information to elected officials, demonstrate our reasoning, and promote informed discussion.” In this case, the REALTORS® were certain that zoning amendments should address changing land use circumstances deliberately, not arbitrarily after changes in personnel.
Says McHale, “Of course, our position is that private property rights need to be protected; the big picture is that the Commission is not the proper forum to reverse community planning, or to determine on a whim what private citizens can do with their property. The LUI analysis supported that concept with law, precedent, and procedural right.”
The region is in the process of implementing a broad planning effort called Advance Knox, a unified long-term vision for city and county; the next step will be to convert the plan’s intentions into reality, explains McHale. One of the planned growth areas the community identified as a future residential/commercial hub is in South Knoxville. It was the new commissioner representing this district who attempted to down-zone five of its parcels, the largest of which is a privately owned swath of 41 acres. The action was in clear contradiction of very recent decisions made by the same County Commission before his election, giving the impression that any change in electoral composition could invalidate not only the zoning but also undermine confidence in the planning and public input process that allows the community to reach consensus on future goals.
The REALTORS® were able to get ahead of this bold re-zoning attempt when the multiple resolutions first entered into the agenda. “This prompted us to quickly apply for the LUI review,” notes McHale, adding, “Robinson & Cole are so dependable, and returned their comprehensive analysis in a timely manner so that we could create a summary and press release to distribute long before the commission meeting.” All of the resolutions were defeated.
While the REALTORS® were prepared to speak at the meeting, their research efforts backed by the Robinson & Cole analysis had already done the work. “Educational discussion with compelling data can be an effective tool beyond debating loud voices of opposition in public forum, especially when your broader goal is to unite leaders in understanding of what’s best for our community. Supporting our elected officials with research is an important service we provide as an organization, and we’re grateful for the REALTOR® Party’s help with that.”
To learn more about how East Tennessee REALTORS® is working to protect private property rights, contact Governmental Affairs & Policy Director Maria McHale at maria@etnrealtors.com.
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