The April meeting of the Sevier County Planning Commission opened with a one-hour workshop to review the troubled Douglas Lake and Eagle Springs projects left in limbo by Stetson. The regular meeting started after the presentation by Knoxville engineering group Barge, Wagner, Sumner and Conner, who have been retained by First Tennessee. The haunting reminders of the Stetson debacle appeared to somber the group as it denied approvals to three of the seven projects, then heard Roger Flinnekan of the Chilhowee View Homeowners Association update the commission on the continued dispute at the proposed project by Barry Shular’s Heartland Development, Meadow Lake Village.
First Tennessee Senior Vice-President Bill Fleagle introduced Greg Eidem and Stu Henry of BWS&C who have been working on a plan to salvage the former Stetson sites. Eidem’s plan is asking the commission to work in two steps, first wiping the property slate clean and creating one property, then approving a new proposal that would resubdivide the area to match up with the positions of salvageable cabins and roadways.
BWS&C current version of proposal would still require 98 variances on the mountainous site. While mostly minor, road grades at Grant Valley were particularly worrisome to members present as they approached nearly 22% on the road that reaches the site for a proposed water tower and has five residential structures already in place that complicate the design.
The Planning Commission took no action but did make recommendations as to what they could accept and what they couldn’t. Planning Officer David Taylor summarized to the full Commission, “some of it’s doable and some of its not.”
Further action still requires navigation of a maze of legal issues on ownerships, either through leading investor First Tennessee buying out the various remaining interest or reaching some kind of partnership agreement. Also required will be extensive work to right ecological damage done to waterways by the previous developer. Seymour Commissioner James Dykes has serious liability concerns over road damage and resident property damage by the Stetson construction, telling Fleagle, “It’s got to be fixed and I don’t see how that’s the taxpayers’ responsibilty.”
The regular meeting opened with Taylor’s report and summary for members not present for the workshop. The commission denied concept approval to the 2.5 acre Chaffin property. Design approval was denied to the Proffitt property. Final approval was also denied to the 14.8 acre Indian Rock project off River Road.
CVHA President Flinnekan then addressed the commission, reporting that despite the request attached to James Temple Jr.’s motion for concept approval for Heartland that Shular’s organization has continued to dump fill dirt on the site and that the Tennessee Department of Environmental Conservation had promised to visit the site after numerous calls by home owners inquiring about whether a Storm Water Phase II permit had been filed. The permit is also a requirement by Temple’s motion. Temple said on the matter, “We can’t stop him from what he’s doing; right now we don’t have a grading permit system here without zoning, but it’s a lot harder to get forgiveness than permission from this body.”
Since the planning commission meeting TDEC has confirmed that a Storm Water Phase II permit has been applied for but not yet granted.

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