Murfreesboro Council annexes Middle Point landfill property after public hearing

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — The Murfreesboro City Council voted July 17 to adopt a plan of services and annex roughly 827 acres that include the Middle Point landfill and adjacent rights of way, following a public hearing in which residents urged the city to gain regulatory oversight of the site.

The move brings the landfill property and a 6,000-linear-foot stretch of Lebanon Pike right of way into the city’s planning jurisdiction. The Council’s vote followed a staff presentation that said Tennessee Department of Transportation had sent a formal letter stating it “does not object” to the annexation and that the Planning Commission had recommended approval after removing certain rights-of-way from the study area.

City administration framed annexation as a means to secure local oversight, not to stop landfill operations. Sam Huddleston, city administration, told the council the city seeks “some input and oversight on the operation and maintenance and management of the site through our property maintenance, storm water and or fire inspection and other similar codes to the extent practical and allowed by law.” He emphasized the city cannot prohibit lawful landfill operations that are…