LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — The proposed second phase of the Whiskey Creek development hit a temporary halt during Monday night’s Metro Planning Commission meeting, as board members raised concerns about infrastructure, access, and zoning compliance.
Developer Chip Hayes presented plans to add 14 additional lots under R1 zoning to the existing Whiskey Creek project, a private tiny home development located off Main Street in Lynchburg in the footprint of the former Wilderness RV Park. However, questions quickly arose regarding road access, bridge safety, and whether the proposed lot sizes met updated zoning standards.
“We’re submitting 14 lots, all under R1 zoning requirements,” Hayes told the board.
But planning members pushed back, citing a previous vote that increased minimum lot sizes for R1 from a quarter acre to a half-acre.
“Everything I’m seeing here doesn’t even hit a quarter acre,” said Metro Planning Commission Chair Dexter Golden.
Access concerns and a single-lane bridge
A significant portion of the meeting focused on how residents and construction crews would access the development. Hayes confirmed that all traffic, including concrete trucks, would enter via a narrow, one-lane bridge originally approved for RV park use.
As you may recall, in June neighbors raised concerns about the safety of using Inman Drive the narrow road adjacent to the tiny homes community – a sentiment that Metro Highway Supervisor Shannon Cauble stated in the August meeting that she shared. {To read our original coverage of that meeting, click here.}
“We had a structural engineer out two weeks ago. The bridge was originally approved by the state for 15-ton continuous use,” Hayes explained.
But board members remained skeptical.
“You’ve got 79 lots in phase one, and now 14 more,” aske member Jeff Ross. “That’s 90 cars, plus visitors, going back and forth across that bridge every day. What happens in five years if that bridge fails?”
Hayes responded that maintenance and replacement responsibilities fall to the development’s homeowners association (HOA), not the county. He noted the HOA’s covenants include a 50-year auto-renewable maintenance agreement.
Still, the board cited public safety and questioned what would happen if the HOA dissolved or failed to maintain the structure.
Water access delays and frustrations
Another sticking point was the water department’s prior handling of phase one. Hayes claimed the project was delayed nine months due to a lack of communication and what he described as “double dipping” by the utility office.
“We were reaching out and got stonewalled,” Hayes said. “Had we been given development guidelines from the beginning, this would’ve gone smoother.”
Board members pushed back, emphasizing that the developer had initially presented the project as something other than a subdivision to avoid those guidelines.
“You said you weren’t a subdivision. That’s why you weren’t asked for a performance bond then. You had guidelines to follow from day one,” Golden said. “We’re not going to call anyone a liar here, but clearly we remember things differently.”
Development benefits and economic impact
Despite the tension, Hayes argued the project would benefit Lynchburg by boosting tourism revenue. “In 2022, Moore County ranked 94th out of 95 counties in Tennessee for tourism tax revenue,” he said. “With more accommodations, that could triple.”
We reached out to local tourism officials for their input and South Central Tennessee Tourism’s Ryan French told us that Lynchburg’s low ranking is more of a technicality.
“While it’s true that Moore County has ranked towards the bottom of the states annual economic impact report, that is due to a reporting technicality,” French told The Times.
“However, it is very true that overnight accommodations will certainly support growth in the category and in my opinion is very much needed in Moore County. In Tennessee, overnight visitors spend on average 186% more than day trippers.”
Hayes also estimated that occupancy taxes from the new development could bring in an additional $250,000 annually – a number French confirmed.
“We’re not drawing on schools or town resources,” he said. “These are tourists who come, spend money, and leave.”
The Outcome
Ultimately, the board voted to table the proposal until key issues are resolved. These include: a signed agreement from the water department, a detailed performance bond with deadlines, legal clarification on lot size requirements and zoning, and assurance of bridge safety and emergency access
“We want to work with you, Chip,” Golden concluded. “But this time, we’re going to make sure every ‘I’ is dotted and every ‘T’ is crossed.”
The proposal will be revisited at a future meeting once documentation is in place.•
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