Several residents raised development and infrastructure concerns at the Oct. 28 town hall, asking whether homeowners’ associations or the city pay for street-light electricity and who enforces routing for construction vehicles. They also asked about rezoning requests and environmental oversight of nearby construction.

Town staff said responsibility for street-light bills varies by development. If the city owns the streets, the city pays the light bills; if a subdivision is private or governed by an HOA, the HOA typically pays. Staff said these arrangements are set case-by-case, often in development agreements or plats. Officials noted the town’s draft zoning ordinance would require HOAs in certain new neighborhood designs but emphasized the draft had not been adopted.

Residents also asked about a rezoning request on Pinewood Road where property annexed into the town arrives with a default RS40 zoning; applicants requested RS10 in one case. Staff explained that higher density requests can reflect limited buildable area—steep terrain, creek setbacks and state-regulated buffers can force homes to be clustered on the portion of a parcel that is actually buildable.

A resident asked about runoff and contamination at Bowie Lake; staff said that the developer’s stormwater plan (SWPPP) has been approved and that TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation) oversees compliance.

On construction traffic, staff said public streets remain open and that the town can pursue weight or routing restrictions only if it adopts specific ordinances or restrictions; otherwise developers and contractors may continue to use public routes and detours until construction ends.

No formal decisions or votes were taken. Staff said they would check the status of planning minutes and follow up on specific subdivision questions.