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Editor’s Note: Rights of Way: the second in a series regarding the continuing growth in the city of Morristown and its effects on a long-standing neighborhood.

The trackhoe incident at Bushong Avene was not documented per se.

There are no AP photos or extemporaneous notes that can be submitted as evidence, yet the eyewitness account by a Morningside resident of a petite Morristown councilwoman standing her ground in front of a moving piece of heavy construction equipment was compelling.

Kay Senter, who has served on the council since 1993, did not speak publicly at the Aug. 8 planning commission meeting; however, she confirmed afterward that she did indeed thwart progress in the manner described.

Resident Michael Jinks, who has lived on Cherry Avenue since 1975, shared with planning commissioners during that meeting the effects of the ground clearing work directed by developer Shannon Greene on the 15 acres located on the northern border of the Morningside subdivision that was established in the 1950s.

“Among many issues that we have here about this property … this area here has flooded since I was in high school. I’ve been there with people from the city. When Belle Meade floods, that area floods. We also have a new swimming pool where Mr. Greene tried to extend out and tie onto Bushong when Kay stopped him, stood in front of the trackhoe and made him stop digging that out,” Jinks said.

There were other city council members who arrived at Bushong on the day of the trackhoe incident, to back up Senter’s insistence that digging in that location would be without city authorization. At least one city planning staff member brought the corresponding paperwork to ensure that the operator ceased his efforts to create a connector between Greene’s property and the neighborhood.

The water issues are wider ranging than anything a trackhoe could create, however, according to neighborhood residents.

“I’ve watched this construction out my back window ever since they moved the first piece of equipment in there. And there has been nothing done after changing the contours of that land,” Jinks said. “There was a berm on the north side of where the sewer line runs through there. That is now gone, so water has a straight shot right down from the top of that hill. And as I watched yesterday during that rain, that plateau that’s under consideration for rezoning, water was gushing off of that just like it was coming out of a gutter. All that is is just a bunch of dirt that has been scraped off next to the highway and leveled out.

“I don’t know what load bearing ability is, but I am watching it shrink. When they first leveled it, you couldn’t see cars passing on the highway. And now I can see cars all the way down to their wheels (affirmative comments were made as he spoke from co-residents who had filled council chambers gallery). It is packing and it is shrinking and it is degenerating. I am going to be in really bad flood trouble unless somebody comes up with some kind of a plan because there are no natural terrain buffers to stop that water anymore.”

Morningside Drive resident William H. “Sandy” Thomason tied his neighbors’ requests for closure of two city-abandoned rights of way to the request by Greene to rezone just over 7 acres of his 15 acres from residential to intermediate business.

In October 2021 Greene requested the entire 15 acres be rezoned to medium density residential, in order to construct apartments, which the planning commission recommended to city council to be denied – Greene then withdrew the request.

“These stubs, or easement, or streets – whatever they actually are – is going to be at least an ancillary part of that item,” Thomason said. “It’s been suggested that we could change the zoning down the road. And that might or might not affect this curb or access point. People have suggested various things and it’s all been predicated on R-1 before that curb cut would be allowed to operate, or that extension and that’s coming from city staff.

“But that doesn’t alleviate the concern about three, four, five years down the road. So I just very specifically suggest that you consider terminating the access today and only at such time as someone come in requesting ‘R-1’ on that property would you re-open that curb cut. If that they come in requesting anything more dense, R-2, R-3, you don’t re-open it and you leave the people protected, leave your commitment intact.”

Discussions among council members and city staff indicated that once the city closes a right-of-way, the property is transferred to the adjacent owners and cannot at any time be reclaimed by the city.

Chesnut Avenue resident William Burja expressed frustration over the potential of heavy equipment being utilitzed on the site.

“An over-arching concern by the local residents is the lack of information in the rezoning request on any new road access and entrance on East Andrew Johnson Highway which would be utilized for any additional work on the property prior to selling any or all of it or further development,” Burja said. “Since this potential zone change would have a serious impact on us and our street, the residents of Chestnut Avenue request the planning commission and codes enforcement to ensure this residential street remains a dead-end, not a free pass through said property. And until the 20-foot setback along Chestnut Avenue is in place, that some sort of barrier or barricade would be put in place to prevent access to that property.

“And I ask you today unanimously to decline and postpone to request to rezone to the City Council until concerns have been addressed and all remediations have occurred,” Burja said.

Should the zoning be approved, access to the 7 acres would be determined by the applicants’ engineer, according to City Senior Planner Lori Matthews.

Planning Commissioner Frank McGuffin asked, “Moving forward, is there anything we can to do to deter equipment or heavy equipment that would come in off of Chesnut?”

Matthews replied, “The applicant (Greene) would have to show where he is bringing in his equipment and he would be required to show where the construction laydown yard was going to be.”

McGuffin rephrased his question, “I’m sure they are not done with all the excavation. Is there anything we can do to deter that moving forward?”

Matthews replied, “I can’t give a definitive on that right now. We would ask the applicant for some type of erosion, sediment control to include the entrance of construction vehicles. That’s just something we would have to ask for. At this time I’m not 100 percent certain, to be completely honest, that we would get it. We would need some state help on that. I fully intend to call the state about this particular project and that he is now moving forward with wanting to zone to commercial instead of having an agricultural use on the property.”

Two Morningside residents commented immediately.

“My concern is, he didn’t ask the first time,” Burja said. “He didn’t ask for permission how he would use Chesnut or Bushong or Baylor. He just did what he chose … And now we’re going to (hope) he asks permission again?”

James Ramsey added, “My concern is Bushong. Are we going to open that up … that’s his only access unless you do something on 25, if it even goes that route.”

Discussion among planning commission members included as to whether the commercial (IB) zoning of the 7-plus acres fronting East Andrew Johnson Highway would prevent all the neighborhood concerns.

Planning commission member Jack Kennerly played devil’s advocate.

“If Chesnut is a public street …,” he said, “I don’t know that our Public Works has requirements for bringing trucks through residential streets. I don’t think there is a legal prohibition from bringing construction equipment across residential areas.”

Burja countered.

“It’s a dedicated dead-end cul-de-sac per your code regulations. It is a turnaround street, it is not a through street. He does not have an address on that street … you have to follow your own rules. It’s a dead-end or it’s not a dead-end. It’s a cul-de-sac or its not a cul-de-sac. It’s not a through street,” Burja said.

Jinks addressed the large number of dead trees and debris that have been left on the Greene property after the deforestation.

“But now guys, I’m thinking you have really let us down on letting this garbage pile lay down. If I did that, I’d fully expect a summons,” Jinks said. “If I let my yard go, I’d expect to be summoned. How he has some kind of special privileges – and he don’t even live there. And he’ll tell you in a second that he wants to be a good neighbor, but you had to get your council people to come up there and stop him from tying into a street he didn’t have permission to. Here’s my point, this is not about personalities. It’s not about Mr. Greene. As far as any of us know, that property’s already been sold. Or in the next five minutes, or if there is a rezoning, he may have a ready buyer there.

“It’s not about Mr. Greene. It’s about looking at these things before you go forward and applying the law equally,” Jinks said.

Morristown Mayor and planning commission member Gary Chesney addressed the gallery which he indicated included a representative of Greene’s company.

“Council has the last word on this,” he said. “I don’t know this, but I make a pretty good prediction: passage of this rezoning by the council is going to be heavily, heavily influenced by the condition of that back property. The zoning goes into effect – the opportunity to drive back roads, that goes away.

“I’m predicting that approval of the condition and what that back lot looks like,” Chesney said, adding that the stack of wood, the pile of sumac and the residue “needs to go away, go away in a hurry.”

“It needs to be a good faith effort. I do know the council is growing weary of the back and forth between developers and a good neighborhood. We’re weary of that.”