Farragut's second Advance Knox vote is almost here. What happens if one alderman flips
After a flip from Farragut Alderman Scott Meyer, the Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen is set to vote on Advance Knox once again. This time, it'll likely approve the county growth plan it voted down earlier.
That would mean Advance Knox would only have one more vote to go, at the Knox County Commission. If passed, it's expected to go into effect May 1.
Advance Knox updates the county's growth plan that will guide how and where development occurs and where infrastructure investments will be made throughout the county. Without it, the county's predicted population spike would lead to sprawling subdivisions eating up valuable green space and farmland.
Knox County has spent over two years and $1.2 million on the plan.
Even though vote do-overs don't happen often, Farragut Town Attorney Tom Hale said Farragut's rules allow for them.
"Normally, people don't change their mind," Hale said. "But I'm thankful that when people do change their mind, there's some way for them to do it. It's not like (Meyer) committed a sin. He thought about it and decided he wanted to change his vote."
Why is Farragut voting again?
The Growth Policy Plan, half of the overall Advance Knox plan, needs the approval of the Knox County Commission, the Knoxville City Council and the Farragut Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
The plan was created by the Growth Policy Coordinating Committee, which included Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs, Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon and Farragut Town Administrator David Smoak, plus representatives from various organizations such as the Knoxville Utilities Board and Knox County Schools.
At Farragut leadership's request, it would not affect land within the town.
When Farragut leaders rejected the Growth Policy Plan on March 28, they halted the initiative's momentum for the entire county. The county said it would pursue mediation from the state.
The aldermen were required by state law to explain their reasoning at a special meeting a week later. David White refused to explain his vote, and Drew Burnette said he thought the plan negatively affected his constituents by adding traffic pressures, despite the plan only affecting unincorporated county land, not Farragut land.
Knox News was not able to reach the aldermen for comment after multiple attempts by phone and email.
Meyer said he'd had a change of heart and would flip his vote after Jacobs said the county would prioritize lower-density development in the Northshore Drive area, where Meyer was concerned about traffic.
"Our goal should be to control development in order to mitigate the traffic impact as much as possible," Meyer said upon proposing the new vote, which will take place April 11.
What happens if Farragut approves the plan?
Mayor Ron Williams and Vice Mayor Louise Povlin already had voted yes and have been staunch supporters of Advance Knox.
If Meyer flips his vote, the Growth Policy Plan likely would be approved 3-2, assuming Burnette and White vote against the plan again.
If approved by the Farragut board, Advance Knox would face one other vote on its way to approval.
The Knox County Commission will vote on the Future Land Use Plan, the second half of Advance Knox, on April 22. The Future Land Use Plan specifies which development types - such as town centers, subdivisions and businesses - could be built in certain areas. It works within the growth boundaries set by the Growth Policy Plan.
If approved by the commission, Advance Knox could take effect as early as May 1.
What happens if Farragut votes it down?
If the Farragut board does not approve Advance Knox, Jacobs likely will follow through on his previous plan to ask the state to mediate the disagreement.
He could send a letter to the secretary of state's office to declare an impasse, and the state would mediate the two municipalities toward an agreement.
The mediation would be handled by a panel of one to three administrative law judges appointed by the state. All parties involved in mediation could pay, or the entire cost could fall on one municipality if the Tennessee Secretary of State's office finds that one entity acted unreasonably or in bad faith.
If mediation didn't result in an agreement, the secretary of state would appoint a new panel to arbitrate.
The arbitration panel could:
Side with Knox County and approve the growth plan as is.
Side with Farragut and deny the entire growth plan.
Create a solution in between.
Why was there a special meeting on April 3?
Hale said the point of the April 3 meeting was to enhance communication, and in the end, communication with Knox County officials was what caused Meyer to flip his vote.
Meyer told Knox News he wished he'd talked with Knox County officials sooner, and that he intends to vote in favor of Advance Knox.
It would have been helpful for the town if White had defended his vote against Advance Knox, Hale said.
"If the people in Nashville who are trying to mediate the (impasse) don't know what the differences are, how are they going to mediate the resolution?" Hale said.
But mediation is on hold for now, depending on how the board votes on April 11.
The law says if one party doesn't negotiate fairly, it could be responsible for the cost of the entire mediation. Choosing not to provide reasoning could put that burden on Farragut, Hale said.
"This whole thing is very complex," Jacobs said. "I was able to explain where we were coming from and they were able to explain where they were coming from. All of us were able to come away with respect for (our) various positions."
How did Farragut aldermen justify their vote?
Burnette said in the meeting that he felt guilt over his vote but stood by it. While the plan affects the whole county, he represents the residents of Farragut and said he thought the plan negatively affected them.
"If this plan was terrible, this would be so easy," Burnette said. "There are parts of this plan that help different areas of the county."
Burnette took issue with a lack of improvements proposed for Choto and the expanded growth area in Hardin Valley, both of which are outside the area he represents.
Silas Sloan is the growth and development reporter. Email silas.sloan@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter @silasloan. Instagram @knox.growth.
Allie Feinberg reports on politics for Knox News. Email her: allie.feinberg@knoxnews.com and follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @alliefeinberg.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Farragut aldermen vote again on Knox County Advance Knox
