MT. JULIET, Tenn. (WKRN) — A Mt. Juliet commissioner wants to make a change to city codes to ensure neighbors are notified about future rezoning plans.

Right now, Mt. Juliet only notifies the public about rezones through a certified letter in the mail. But one commissioner wants to change that.

Mt. Juliet District 3 Commissioner Scott Hefner has been on the city commission for five years. Throughout his time, the City of Mt. Juliet had the practice of notifying the public of a rezone in a couple of different ways.

Mt. Juliet residents were normally aware of a new rezone from a certified letter notifying any adjacent property owners that there was a pending or an upcoming rezone in the area, which would be heard at a planning commission meeting. Physical signage would also be put on their property so that anyone who didn’t have the certified letter who lived in the neighborhood would see that there was a potential rezone taking place.

These practices have been in place for as long as Hefner remembers. 

There was a recent state change in regulations for annexations and rezones. The change took place a little over a year ago. Mt. Juliet’s new city manager reviewed the state law on how commissioners notified the public of rezones, and Mt. Juliet’s city attorney and planning commission decided to follow the state regulations.

Hefner said he had no idea the change was happening. And he’s not sure if the rest of the board was made aware either. 

Hefner downloaded the city commission agenda last Wednesday only to find out one piece of property had already been read at the planning commission and received a positive recommendation.

“I was a little surprised and taken aback by that, so were a lot of the neighbors that were impacted by this rezone,” Hefner said.

He feels like there should have been some sort of transitional period to make residents aware of the change.

“If we’re going to adopt a new communication practice specifically communicating to residents of the up-and-coming rezone, we need to let the citizens know that this change is going to take place,” Hefner said. “We can’t just arbitrarily sit in a room and make a decision and put a switch and all of a sudden we are adopting a new practice.”

Hefner said the change goes against what Mt. Juliet residents have been accustomed to. He is attempting to update the city's codes and revert to the way they used to notify the public for rezones.

He’s going to change the codes to allow signage to be placed in the property of the subject rezone and allow citizens to speak and be heard at the planning commission.

Rezones start at the city’s Planning Commission, and then they’re forwarded onto the city commission with a positive or negative recommendation. That’s the starting point where citizens weigh in whether therefore against a rezone.

“To me, it’s all about communicating to the public and making sure they’re aware of potential impacts to their neighborhood,” Hefner said.

Hefner hopes the city is more transparent in the future since rezones could have a dramatic impact on residents.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/middle-tn-neighborhood-news/mt-juliet-commissioner-looks-to-change-city-codes-to-keep-residents-informed-of-rezoning/