HUNTINGDON, Tenn. — A water line project on Northwood Drive just outside Huntingdon city limits is disrupting lives, and yards, of several residents, according to Heather and Josh Pardue.
The couple aired the grievance on behalf of themselves and neighbors at the Carroll County Commission meeting on Monday, September 14.
Heather explained that excavators arrived on their road with no warning about a month ago to lay a water line intended to serve a planned development of roughly 50 units on 15 acres.
“So far, this waterline project has affected four private properties,” she told commissioners. “A cancer patient has missed an appointment. A single mother was unable to get to her home after a long day of work due to private drives being destroyed. And none of these property owners knew or were informed that they had any say in this.”
The project is a private development by Ashley Cook, in conjunction with Nexus Real Estate Development, LLC. It is to be located in what is now an empty field to the south of Northwood Drive in the 3100 block.
The parcel borders the CSX rail line that runs parallel to US-70, and contains the home located at 23281 US-70.
The property is just outside city limits but inside Huntingdon’s planning region, and the Huntingdon Planning Commission has subdivision jurisdiction over it.
Back in March, Cook obtained permission from the planning commission to connect to city water and sewer.
Huntingdon Mayor Chad Edwards said that Cook followed the process the town laid out.
“He came to us (Town of Huntingdon), and said he needed water and sewer,” Edwards said.
He explained that they granted Cook permission.
“But I said, we the town are not putting a dime in this,” Edwards added, saying that TDEC needed to be involved and approve the project before any work could take place.
Edwards said Cook met those requirements, but that the engineer failed to secure easements or notify property owners.
“The engineer dropped the ball,” he said.
Attorney’s Response
County Attorney Robert T. Keeton III said during the meeting that the county has little authority over the project.
“This isn’t a project of the county. Neither is it a project of the City of Huntingdon,” Keeton said. “It is a private project that has permission to hook on to Huntingdon’s water and sewer when it’s completed.”
Keeton said the TDEC approval covers the engineering, but the digging across private property without easements is a matter between the property owners and the contractor.
He advised affected residents to hire an attorney, and said that damages could include the pipe itself, the construction, and anything that was disturbed.
“Property owners have a private right of action in regard to crossing their property without any type of easement or right-of-way agreement,” Keeton said.
After the meeting adjourned, the Pardues continued the conversation with commissioners and Keeton.
Joshua Pardue raised concern that if the sewer line remains buried on private property long enough, it could eventually be grandfathered into a utility easement.
Keeton said any real estate matter carries a three-year statute of limitations. He again recommended the residents hire an attorney, telling them it could likely be handled on a contingency fee basis given the potential damages.
Flood Concerns and Road Safety
Beyond the easement dispute, residents raised concerns about the suitability of the land itself.
The Pardues said roughly 20 percent of the 15-acre site sits underwater regularly, and that the area floods at least twice a year.
Joshua Pardue said he has personally rescued a woman from a car that was washed off the road into the field where houses are planned.
Residents also say Northwood Drive is already dangerous, with heavy truck traffic on blind curves since a “No Through Trucks” sign was removed years ago.
The Pardues’ concern is that adding 50 households to the road will make conditions worse, both for traffic and for emergency response during flooding.
No Zoning, No Easy Fix
The concerns of residents on Northwood Drive resurfaced an age old discussion in Carroll County: the lack of zoning in unincorporated areas.
Keeton told residents after the meeting that the county studied countywide zoning in the early 1990s but the commission at that time chose not to adopt it.
The only zoned area in the county is the lake district, which was established as part of the construction of the 1,000 Acre Lake.
“The only way that the county can limit the 50 residences out there is by way of zoning, and the county does not have zoning,” Keeton said. “And it will take two to three years [to adopt].”
Heather said, “If it’ll keep it from happening to another neighborhood, so be it.”
She made an appeal to commissioners during her formal remarks referencing the protections in the lake zoning resolution’s purpose statement and asking whether the rest of Carroll County could have the same.
“Is this commission going to set a precedent of growth through order and safety, or growth through revenue?” she asked.
County Mayor Joseph Butler said the county has been engaged on the issue and would “stay plugged into this.”
Loud Silence
The Pardues said they were disheartened by the response they received.
“To be handled with a prepared speech from an attorney is something,” Heather Pardue said. “It’s one thing to be frustrated with local government over what you read in a news article. I wasn’t prepared for how it felt face to face.”
She said only two of the 18 commissioners present spoke to them after the meeting.
“We are just asking for something to be put into place so people, like our neighbors, who don’t have resources, time, or energy to spend on civil litigation are less likely to be victims of greedy developers,” she said. “And our county legislative body sat silent.”
Pardue said she wants the community to know that developers are active in Carroll County and that residents should ask questions of anyone working on or near their property.
“People need to start educating themselves on property rights,” she said, “because no one here is going to do it for us.”