By Tabitha Evans Moore
Editor & Publisher

LYNCHBURG, Tenn. — The Moore County Planning Commission is drafting a proposed one-year moratorium on large residential subdivisions, but the idea is still a work in progress — one that will need Metro Council approval before it could take effect, commissioners said at their Tuesday meeting.

The commission agreed to send its early framework to council for feedback in September, not to adopt anything. Planners said they expect council members to weigh in on the concept before the board tries to finalize any ordinance language, and that the earliest any pause could realistically begin — after two required readings at the council level — would be October.

As discussed, the moratorium would apply to “major subdivisions” — generally defined as five or more lots — and would not affect projects already in the rezoning pipeline or minor subdivisions of four lots or fewer. Commissioners also said they didn’t want the pause to catch ordinary residents who might split off a lot or two for family members.

“Everyone born and raised here should be able to build here,” Planning Commission member Jeff Ross said.

Commissioners debated whether the pause should run six months or a full year, ultimately leaning toward a year on the reasoning that the board meets only monthly and would need real time to research and draft new subdivision rules. One commissioner noted the pause is not meant to be permanent — if the county gets its regulations in place sooner, the council could lift it early.

Much of the discussion centered on how easily a lot-count cap can be sidestepped. Ross, who said he has built subdivisions in Coffee County, described personally splitting a 13-lot tract in Manchester across multiple names — four lots in his own name, four in a real estate agent’s name, and so on — after local rules initially blocked him from building all 13 lots at once as a single project.

“They couldn’t turn us down,” he told the board, adding that he wanted to flag the tactic now because “that’s what’s going to happen” in Moore County if the rule isn’t written carefully.

He and other commissioners agreed a moratorium capping major subdivisions at five lots or more could be circumvented the same way — by dividing a single tract into multiple four-lot filings under different owners’ names.

Commissioners floated — and did not resolve — several ways to close that gap, including limiting how many lots or building permits a single person could pull in a year. They also acknowledged that approach has its own problems: it could unfairly penalize a resident’s family members who buy lots later, and one commissioner suggested it could open the county to discrimination claims.

As an alternative — or a supplement — to a strict lot-count moratorium, commissioners discussed requiring that any agricultural-zoned property seeking rezoning for a major development go directly to Metro Council for a decision, without a recommendation from the planning commission.

“We don’t really recommend projects,” Commission member Scott Fruehauf said. “Projects either meet the requirements of the zoning ordinance or they don’t.”

Commissioners said that approach could hold up better against a legal challenge, since it would not need to define or cap the size of a development to work: any request to rezone agricultural land out of its current use would already require council approval, with or without a moratorium.

Commissioners also raised the idea of formally mapping an “urban growth area” — sections of the county with existing water and road infrastructure where larger developments would be appropriate — versus areas the county would steer growth away from to protect farmland, an approach commissioners said neighboring Franklin County has already adopted.

Balancing growth, infrastructure, safety, and the need for housing

Commissioners leaned against including commercial or industrial development in the pause, citing concerns about discouraging job growth or blocking expansion by the county’s largest employer, Jack Daniel Distillery. There was less agreement on whether apartments and townhomes should be treated as residential or commercial for the purposes of the moratorium. They stressed they are sensitive to the needs for affordable housing in Moore County, but that the aim of the moratorium is to develop policies that prevent undue stress on local infrastructure and property tax increases on the backs of existing citizens for upgrades rapid growth could require.

One particular concern is the number of private drives being attached to Moore County’s narrow and curvy rural backroads.

“Our roads are becoming dangerous,” Roads Superintendent Shannon Cauble stated during the meeting. Cauble is currently working on standards for right-of-way access across the county to give the Commission a framework for balancing the needs of potential development against public safety.

The planning commission agreed to forward its framework — not a finished ordinance — to Metro Council for direction before drafting formal language with the county attorney. If the council supports moving forward, commissioners said the attorney would then have roughly two weeks to prepare draft language ahead of the planning commission’s October meeting, which would still need to go before council for the required two readings before any moratorium could take effect.

The commission is separately discussing a possible ordinance restricting data centers, a related but distinct proposal driven by the same concern: putting rules in place before a large-scale development proposal arrives, rather than after.

The Metro Planning Commission meets the first Tuesday of each month at the County Building located at 241 Main Street in Lynchburg. •

ABOUT THE LYNCHBURG TIMES: The Lynchburg Times is Moore County’s most-read, independent news source and the only local media source owned by a Lynchburg native. We believe small-town newspapers are worth saving, not just here but everywhere they’re disappearing. Readers, small business partners, and underwriters who believe community journalism still matters support our work. If that idea resonates with you, consider becoming a supporter at lynchburgtimes.com.