Growth, Development, Planning and Property Rights

In recent months, there has been a lot of concern expressed about growth and development in the Town of Farragut.  From a personal perspective, I don’t need to see another house built in the Town of Farragut and I am certainly in no rush to see the rest of the Town build out.  However, local government is held in check by the laws and constitutions of the United States and State of Tennessee. In my capacity as an elected official, I am constrained by the constitutional principles of due process and takings clauses and I have no right to impose my personal opinion on someone else’s constitutionally protected private property rights. 

The Town of Farragut is granted the powers of local planning* and land use regulation**  by the state constitution and state laws, and these powers are reserved to the state by the Constitution of the United States. The Town can adopt zoning ordinances, subdivision regulations, architectural design guidelines and a comprehensive land use plan and enforce building codes. The use of these powers to exert influence over the use of private property is constrained by the constitutional principles of due process and takings clauses.

Some folks believe the Town should just stop allowing any more development.  While a development moratorium can be imposed, it must serve a valid government purpose and have a specific time frame.  For example, a local government can institute a moratorium on development for the purposes of researching and implementing changes to its zoning ordinance or comprehensive plan but the duration of time to research and implement the changes must be delineated and the local government must act promptly to research and implement those changes.  Simply wishing to stop development is not a valid government purpose. 

If someone does not wish to see the remaining privately owned properties in the Town of Farragut develop, the option they have is to raise the money, purchase the land, put it into a conservation easement and find a group that would accept the responsibility for the upkeep of the donated land.


*T.C.A. Title 13, Chapter 4, Parts 1-3

**T.C.A. Title 13, Chapter 7


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