Members of the City of LaFollette Planning Commission met on Thursday afternoon.

By Lindsey Hutson-Suttles

LAFOLLETTE, TN (WLAF) – The first meeting of the LaFollette Regional Planning Commission for 2023 was held Thursday afternoon at City Hall.

First line of business was to swear in the three new members. Stan Foust, City of LaFollette Administrator, swore in Melanie Nance, Matthew Grodeman and Lynn Letner. Then, voting took place. Stephanie Solomon was voted as chairman. Melanie Nance was voted as Vice chairman. Matthew Grodeman is the secretary.

Matthew Grodeman is sworn in by LaFollette City Administrator Stan Foust to serve on the City of LaFollette Planning Commission.

The first item up on the agenda was about property located at 107 North Tennessee Avenue. Danyeal Daniels and Paul Holt have hopes of making this property a flea market with an outdoor, open building. This property is zoned C-1 which does not allow temporary structures, according to Foust, which is what the structure is described to be. Mayor Cliff Jennings made a motion to deny the request, and it was seconded.

Next, Tony Crutchfield with Crutchfield Surveys represented Johnny and Laura Byrge regarding property at 1104 Rose Hill Drive. The Byrge’s wish is to combine two lots into one and build one structure on the bigger lot. The plan meets all requirements, and the motion was approved. 

LaFollette City Administrator Stan Foust swears in Melanie Nance to serve on the City of LaFollette Planning Commission.

Scott Bowling of IRTEC, representing Manasa Marina, LLC, presented the commission with a site plan review for land purchased at 2335-B Jacksboro Pike behind Weigel’s Convenience Store. The new owners would like to place storage buildings on the site and had hydrologic studies done and a site plan available through Bowling. However, Mayor Jennings is strongly against any more storage buildings in the C-1 (Central Business District) and C-2 (Highway Business District) zones stating that, “we can’t afford to lose potential revenue” in the future. He believes that the ordinances are against it as well. Jordan Rockwell, Community Planner with the East Tennessee Development District, which includes Campbell County, says in his opinion the ordinances are not clear on that, and a vote needs to be done to clear up the issue. Rockwell also points out that Bowling’s site plan is not complete due to the lack of a landscape plan. Therefore he recommends the board deny the request for now. The motion was denied.

A suspension of the rules was then requested by the mayor. He brought forth ordinance 2023-02 which would forbid storage units in zones C-1 and C-2. Mayor Jennings made a motion to approve the ordinance. It was approved.

Lynn Letner is sworn in by LaFollette City Administrator Stan Foust to serve on the City of LaFollette Planning Commission.

Next was an in-home occupation request by Tammy Teague for 118 East Woodland Court. Teague was not present but City of LaFollette Codes Officer Jeff Duncan stated that it would be an online only clothing store. There would be no additional traffic or signage. The motion carried.

Lastly, Terry Miller brought forth a variance request for property located on South 12th Street. Miller wants to build a house on the lot, but the required setbacks make it difficult. The commission agreed to grant a 23-foot variant on the front and a 10-foot variant for the back. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED – 01/27/2023-6AM)