The Crossville City Council shared split opinions during a Tuesday work session concerning a sewer request along Fire Fox Road.
Property Owner Janelle Hernandez requested access to the existing sewer line that runs through her property. That home, however, is not within the city limits. City ordinance states annexation would be required. Council Member James Mayberry said he supported an exception.
“My opinion in reference to this particular one, when their sewer line runs right through the corner of their property, if they don’t want to be in the city, the way I look at it, so be it,” Mayberry said. “We do have the ordinance, and I think that there could be, could be bent a little bit.”
Hernandez said she bought the property in October of 2024 before the city changed its annexation policies. Mayor RJ Crawford said the ordinance was changed to make sure the city did not overload the city sewer capacity for outside city sewer.
“This deal was kind of done at the same time that the ordinance went, and so it’s like if you are going to give grace, I feel like this is the only one,” Crawford said. “I just don’t want to set a precedent where moving forward, if someone buys a piece of property right next to you all and decides to hook in, because I feel like we gotta hold firm.”
The city’s planning commission originally reviewed the request, but a vote ended in a 3-3 tie. Hernandez said she believes a tie is not a clear decision and asked to be grandfathered in. The Crossville City Council will further discuss and potentially vote on the request next Tuesday at 6pm.
