Home-based businesses ordinance in limbo
While an ordinance to amend the Town’s existing ordinance regarding home-based businesses was on Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen’s agenda for its Thursday, Oct. 23, meeting, which was cancelled for lack of a quorum, some Board members still are not ready to act on it.
Monday, Mayor Ron Williams said he does not expect that item will appear on the Board’s next meeting, scheduled for Nov. 13.
However, he added, “That doesn’t mean it won’t be on the next Planning Commission agenda.”
In fact, Williams said, “In my opinion, it should go back to the (Farragut Municipal) Planning Commission” as a workshop item, so it can be discussed in a public meeting, before it returns to the Board.
“There are some things that still need to be worked on,” he said and added he would like to see the proposed changes and the existing ordinance placed side by side so they can be compared, as the Town had done with the recent road cross sections in the subdivision regulations.
“We currently have an ordinance that addresses home-based businesses, but it’s very rigid and the rules are somewhat subjective,” Community Development director Mark Shipley said. “We wanted to amend the ordinance so that it would have more objective provisions and be up to speed with the post-COVID business world.
“In comparison to the existing
home occupation provisions, the proposed language exempts many businesses from needing a permit and broadens the types of businesses that are allowed with a permit,” he said. “We began working on the proposed amendment a year ago, and it
has been reviewed by a
citizen working (ad hoc)
group four times and been discussed, in different stages of
development, with the Municipal Planning Commission at four separate meetings.
“We recognize that this is an important amendment,” Shipley said. “That’s why we’ve taken time on it and invited a group of citizens to provide feedback.”
The ad hoc committee, whose meetings are not required to be public, was appointed to hash out proposed amendments to its existing ordinance. However, the mayor said the committee members could not come to a consensus on matters in the proposed
ordinance.
Alderman Alex Cain, who represents the North Ward (1), also has concerns about the proposed ordinance amendments (see Letter to the Editor, Page 2A).
In looking at the proposed changes, Cain said, “It centralizes too much authority in unelected staff without adequate oversight from the Board of Mayor and Aldermen, weakening the representative balance established by the Town Charter.
“The (proposed) ordinance also advanced without a final subcommittee consensus or resident input, undermining transparency and proper procedure,” he said. “The Town also relies on residents to report ordinance violations due to insufficient enforcement personnel, placing the burden on citizens rather than the government.”
Regarding the Town charter, Cain said the proposal was inconsistent because “the ordinance grants excessive authority to staff, raising accountability concerns
and threatening residents’
privacy.
“It allows staff the possibility to interpret the ordinance in their own way, which violates residents’ trust,” he said. “Expanding discretion without oversight undermines both the charter and residents’ rights.”
