'Regulation without representation': Washington County to gain planning, zoning jurisdiction in unincorporated areas

Washington County has gained planning and zoning jurisdiction of its unincorporated areas located within municipal growth boundaries since the signing of a new state law. The Washington County commission unanimously adopted a resolution in support of the legislation at its May 18 meeting, ahead of Gov. Bill Lee's signing of the bill on May 22. Rep. Tim Hicks, R-Gray, sponsored the bill and began working on it late last year. "This bill will allow counties, by majority vote, to take over any projects that are inside the urban growth boundary [and] be able to take that planning and zoning over and do it in the county and it not have to go to the city," Hicks said. The bill's main goals, according to Hicks, are to give clarity to the public on who has oversight on projects outside city limits and potentially create more affordable housing. He said it's easier to achieve the growth of affordable housing within the county rather than within city limits. Hicks believes this state law should have been enacted years ago when the annexation law was amended to only allow annexation by property owner request or referendum. Before these changes were made, municipalities could annex unincorporated areas in its urban growth boundary with an ordinance, allowing for more large-scale incorporation. Hicks said urban growth boundaries, when created, were beneficial for municipalities and were a path to "know that subdivisions built in this urban growth boundary would be done to city standards." When the annexation law's amendments were adopted in 2014, the benefits municipalities had in those boundaries faded. "It changed to where the only way that anything can ever be annexed is for the person that owns the property to request annexation, or it has to be done by referendum," he said. Additionally, Hicks felt without this bill, the public was enduring regulation without representation. "Whenever you really think about it, you have a project that the person that is doing the project is in the county, then everyone that is going to either do business or live in these projects or around these projects are going to live in the county," he said. "No one in that process can really vote for the people that's making decisions on all of the work that's going into that subdivision." Washington County Planning Director Angie Charles said while it doesn't do away with the municipality's urban growth boundaries, it does remove Johnson City and Jonesborough's authority to enforce zoning, land use and development regulations within the boundaries. "Johnson City's regulations in terms of their zoning ordinance and their subdivision regulations would only be applicable within their municipal boundary," Charles said. Charles added Washington County already has an agreement with Jonesborough to pick up its subdivision projects within the urban growth boundaries and it will now pick up Johnson City's with the passing of the resolution. When asked how the new law will impact city planning and operations going forward, city spokespeople would not provide any details. "Given the recent passage of SB No. 1771, the city is still assessing the impacts, if any, the new law will have on city operations," said Johnson City spokeswoman Sarah Nobles in an email to Six Rivers Media. However, the bill is listed under "legislation to watch" in an internal presentation that overviews the city's legislative agenda obtained earlier this year by Six Rivers Media. The city of Johnson City is also a member of the Tennessee Municipal League (TML), a lobbying group that advocates for the collective agenda of towns and cities across the state. When asked what the organization's official stance was on the issue, TML spokeswoman Corrine Gould wrote in a statement that TML worked toward adding certain stipulations that made it to the final law. "After Tennessee ended annexation by ordinance, some residents outside city limits questioned why they should follow city‑driven planning rules," the statement from Gould reads. "TML understood the concern but emphasized that coordinated planning still benefits communities tied to future city growth. "Working with Representative Hicks, the final legislation lets cities and counties form agreements to maintain cooperation and ensure compatible development. It also ensures that if property owners later choose to be annexed, the property already meets city standards or contributes to needed upgrades, protecting taxpayers and service quality."