by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

“The zoning was done in error and needs corrected,” said Monteagle attorney Jerry Bible at the Oct. 19 Monteagle Council workshop, paraphrasing the opinion of the Municipal Technical Advisory Service (MTAS) on zoning maps approved by ordinance in 2018 and 2019. “If the city is still in favor of making those [zoning map] changes, you should go through the process with proper notification.”

The MTAS opinion stated: “The town did not comply with the statutory and ordinance procedural requirements.” Monteagle ordinances require notice of a hearing on zoning map changes must be published in a local newspaper 15 days prior to the meeting. Fifteen-day notification was not given for the 2018 and 2019 zoning map hearings.

Attorney Sarah Bible said the Monteagle zoning map would revert back to the 2015 version.

“We’ve checked back and we don’t think the 2015 map is correct either,” said Vice Mayor Tony Gilliam.

Following the workshop, Gilliam explained a 15-day public hearing notice did not appear to have been given for the 2015 zoning map changes made by the prior administration.

The 2018 ordinance also included zoning regulations. Discussing the course of action the Planning Commission would follow, Chair David Oliver said, “We weren’t planning on adopting that [the 2018] map. We were just going to review [the regulations] and make any minor changes to the language of the ordinance.”

Sarah Bible pointed out the 2018 ordinance added the requirement of by mail notification to adjacent landowners for zoning map changes. “Calling for land owner notification is not in the Tennessee Code,” Bible said. “I don’t know where that came from.”

Oliver said the notification-to-landowners stipulation was added because of possible air quality concerns when zoning for a cement plant was under consideration.

Sarah Bible said some municipalities were requiring by mail notification to adjacent land owners. She stressed that to adopt the 2018 ordinance regulations, no by-mail notification was required. Because the 2018 ordinance had not been adopted, the stipulation of by-mail notification was not currently in effect, and even if it had been, the by-mail notification clause applies only to zoning map boundaries changes.

In other business, the council discussed getting sealed bids for the purchase of a new backhoe for the water plant to replace the out-of-service 25-year-old backhoe. Regarding concerns about a large trash pile at the former Blalock Building Supplies location and unkept property on North Bluff Circle, Gilliam recommended the city attorneys send letters to the property owners giving them 30 days to address the problems.

Gilliam also recommended temporarily tabling the plan to purchase a generator for the police department. Research revealed a three-phase generator was needed rather than a single-phase generator, which would nearly double the anticipated $6,000 cost. “We need to check around for a better price,” Gilliam said.

Informed by the Water Department about a developer’s request for service, Gilliam said the engineering would need to be done by the state since the property was outside the town’s Urban Growth Area.He predicted the cost to the developer would be “very expensive,” since the developer would need to tap into a 6-inch line on the other side of U.S. Highway 41.

No votes were taken at the workshop. The Monteagle City Council will hold its regular meeting on Oct. 26.