The following was emailed to us by Gene Pearson, former director, Graduate Program for City and Regional Planning, University of Memphis, and he allows us to post it here:
The Tennessee General Assembly could soon eliminate an important power Memphis has to control its destiny. Currently Memphis has the power to control zoning up to 5 miles from its corporate boundaries outside of the other municipalities, which includes most of unincorporated Shelby County. Memphis also approves subdivisions up to 3 miles outside of its borders. A bill to eliminate the zoning power has been introduced in the House (1394) and Senate (1419).
HB1394 by *Todd.
(SB1419 by *Norris.) 4/20/2015Shelby County – As introduced, abolishes extrajurisdictional zoning authority within the unincorporated areas of the county and, under certain circumstances, restores full and sole authority and control to the county board of commissioners. – Amends Chapter 613 of the Private Acts of 1931.The Abstract summarizes HB1394 as introduced.
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The Memphis City Council has not had a clear policy on an efficient land use pattern since the comprehensive plan of 1981, and as a result land jointly zoned by Memphis and Shelby County outside of Memphis over the last 35 years was not sustainable. The migration of population out of Memphis into unincorporated Shelby County in the 1990s and early 2000s caused both Memphis and Shelby County governments to reach dangerous debt levels as revealed by an excellent Commercial Appeal series beginning April 17, 2015 written by Marc Perrusquia.
With its budget problems and discussions about smart growth, the Memphis City Council has the opportunity to begin using it zoning power to require sustainable development outside its borders; and the bill to eliminate extraterritorial power looks like the developers fear a Memphis City Council that will look harder at sprawl than before recession due to fiscal problems caused by sprawl.
Mayor Luttrell has supported this bill because there is a widespread myth that with annexation effectively dead, Memphis’ extraterritorial power is not needed. This is not correct because zoning by the County Commission without Memphis can result in new debt for roads and schools if the economy returns to pre-recession levels. Memphis taxpayers would shoulder most of the debt. Already this year several developers have pulled permits out side of Memphis for low cost houses that would appeal to first-time buyers who now live in Memphis.
Memphis needs its extraterritorial zoning power to help insure that many eyes are on the emerging growth patterns in Shelby County. We can’t be fooled by voices that say, “better in unincorporated Shelby, if not in Memphis, than in Fayette and Desoto counties”.
