BY KRISTEN BUCKLES
STAFF WRITER
A rezoning issue will come under consideration by the Greene County Commission during Monday's meeting at the Greene County Courthouse.
The commission will meet at 6 p.m., following a 5 p.m. meeting of the Republican Caucus.
A number of people are already scheduled to speak either for or against the proposed rezoning, including David Carter, Ron Hall and Chuck Dyer.
The proposed change from A-1 (General Agriculture) to B-2 (Central Business District), would take place on Quillen Shell Road on property owned by American Patriot Bank.
The bank is requesting the change on behalf of a business, MC Septic Service, that would like to purchase the property to relocate and expand its operations.
REACTION TO REZONING
Business-owner Mark Collins spoke during the last commission meeting to introduce himself and explain that he desires the zoning change in order to move his business to the Quillen Shell Road site from its current location in his home.
He said that his equipment is in working order and that there is no exposed sewage to create an air quality problem.
However, when the issue first came up before the Greeneville Regional Planning Commission, several Quillen Shell Road residents voiced their objections, related to potential increased traffic in the neighborhood, air quality concerns, and aesthetic concerns related to the equipment used by the business.
The planning commission decided to send the request for rezoning to the Greene County Commission without a recommendation.
That decision was made largely because of an error in the way the rezoning request was described in the planning commission's state-law-required advertisement of the request.
The planning commission's agenda had referred to the rezoning request as changing from A-1 (General Agriculture District) to B-1 (Neighborhood Business District) rather than from A-1 to B-2 (Central Business District).
Because the sale of the property is pending and the issue is seen as somewhat time-urgent, the commission voted to send the request to the County Commission without a recommendation rather than delaying action further by re-advertising the request in corrected form.
On Monday, the commission will vote to either accept or deny the request, or to send it back to the planning commission.
OTHER BUSINESS
In other business, the commission will also consider the following agenda items:
* recommending a $425,000 Fast Track Infrastructure Development Program grant application (with a matching grant of $75,000 from US Nitrogen) for water infrastructure improvements to benefit industrial growth in the western end of the county;
* budgeting $1,000 to the Sheriff's Department's budget for law enforcement equipment from a donation of $1,000 by Walmart;
* budgeting $228 from the sale of recycled materials for county building improvements;
* reimbursing the Unicoi County Highway Department $8,500 out of the County General Fund for labor and equipment cost incurred by the Unicoi County department in assisting Greene County after the 2011 tornadoes here; and,
* appointing members to the County Zoning Appeals Board.
