A Lawyer's Analysis of Conflict of Interest in Tennessee










Popular posts from this blog

Solutions to Address Traffic in Farragut (while preserving our Community Character)

Image
In last few years East Tennessee has experienced a mass influx of new residents and sometimes it feels like they all moved to the Farragut area. With growth comes increased traffic. Our transportation network is part of a much larger network of roads. Our traffic issues are not of own our making.  Increased traffic on the interstate has made our community a more attractive area for cut-through traffic.   The Town of Farragut was founded to protect and preserve its residential character. We shouldn't be so willing to surrender that just so folks from outside our town and the interstate can use our community as a cut through.  The infrastructure improvements we invest in to accommodate growth have long-term consequences for the Town of Farragut and need to be considered strategically.  Often, the first inclination is to widen roads and intersections. Widening roads adds more capacity and therefore allows for an increased volume of traffic, and sometimes is necessa...
Read more

Updating the Plan – Reducing Density and Intensity (of land use)

Image
Future Land Use Map - 2023 Note: This article was originally posted in February 2022. It has been updated to reflect recent activity. The Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) was adopted in 2012 to update the previous land use plan.  The planning commission relies on this plan when making land use decisions.  The future land use map which was originally adopted by the FMPC in 2012 is below. In 2017, at my request, a steering committee was established to review the plan.  Several key corridors on the land use map (updated version is at the top of the post)  were chosen for review and a process was established to gather public input for map updates.    A few key amendments have  lowered the density and/or land use intensity on the map. Reduced the medium density designation from 6-12 units/acre to 6-8 units/acre which instantaneously eliminated higher density use in areas designated medium density  Established a high density designation. Since noth...
Read more

Advance Knox - Choto/Concord

Image
  Future Land Use Map Amendments to the Concord and Choto Areas  Advance Knox is an initiative through which Knox County has worked to replace the failed 2003 Knox County General Plan and develop a Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) to update Knox County's development related ordinances and regulations.  I was engaged with the Advance Knox initiative from the beginning.   I showed up when asked.   I attended all the open houses and workshops, I provided input on surveys, and I attended or watched all the Growth Policy Plan Coordinating Committee meetings.    When the first draft of the Comprehensive Land Use and Transportation Plan was released, I studied it.   Interestingly, Knox County's proposed plan has land use concepts that are similar to the Town of Farragut's Comprehensive Land Use Plan including  a future land use map and land use designations.  Having served on the Farragut's municipal planning commission for the last 10 years...
Read more