Regional planning commission releases Lake Haven performance bond; developer warns county short-term rental rules could halt work

The Jefferson County Regional Planning Commission voted to release a $196,528 performance bond for Lake Haven Subdivision Phase 3A and instructed staff to notify the surety that the developer had met the bond conditions.

Josh Clark, developer of Lake Haven Cabin Resort, told the commission he had completed underground utilities and paving for Phase 3A and asked the planning commission to direct staff to request release of the performance bond. Clark said the bond covered utility and roadwork for lots 138–143 in Phase 3A. After Clark’s presentation the commission moved, seconded and voted to release the bond.

Why it matters: releasing the performance bond clears a financial and administrative condition that allows Clark to continue development activities at Lake Haven. Clark also used his time at the podium to press an unrelated but consequential point — he urged commissioners to oppose a county short-term rental (STR) ordinance that is scheduled for the county commission’s vote next week and said the measure could have immediate effects on Lake Haven’s planned construction.

Clark said Lake Haven has 61 completed cabins and that the development now provides water to more than 61 units and is permitted to serve up to 163 lots by its water permit and up to 165 lots under a later sewer permit. “Phase 3A is just 6 lots, 138 through 143,” Clark told the commission, summarizing paperwork he had submitted for the bond-release request. He said county highway superintendent Joe Patterson had signed off on the road work and that permits for the private sewer utility and water were included in his packet.

During his remarks Clark urged the planning commission to vote against a draft Jefferson County STR ordinance, saying the current county draft had “ballooned into a 17 page book that is confusing owners and illegal.” He raised three central objections: that the county ordinance mishandles a grandfather clause in the Tennessee Short-Term Rental Act, imposes disproportionate requirements on STR properties compared with other residences, and classifies STRs as commercial. Clark added that as president of the Lake Haven Cabin Owners Association he would “have no option but to pursue legal action against the county for this clear violation of the state law on behalf of the 61 property owners who invested in Lake Haven previous to the STR ordinances being inactive.”

Clark warned that if the ordinance passes he would halt future development at Lake Haven: “As the developer of Lake Haven, I will have no option but to shut down future development, including the 22 lakefront lots of phase 3 for which I'm currently completing rough grading with plans to begin construction on cabins next summer.” He told the commission he would return next month seeking release from Phase 3 if the county enacted the ordinance and it had an adverse material effect on previously approved development.

Commission action and immediate next steps: commissioners voted to release the performance bond and instructed staff to notify the bonding company. Clark’s request to the planning commission for administrative action on the bond was the formal outcome recorded in the meeting record. The short-term rental ordinance Clark criticized is scheduled for a county commission vote next week; Clark said he cannot attend that county meeting and asked the planning commission to consider recommending a subcommittee that would include short-term rental owners, the tourism director, the county clerk and county legal counsel to draft a simplified, enforceable ordinance.

What remains unresolved: Clark said the county’s STR proposal is pending at the county commission and that any legal claims or development changes he described would depend on the final ordinance language and any subsequent county or court actions. The planning commission record shows only the bond-release vote as a formal action; Clark’s remarks about STR policy were part of public comment and not a planning commission decision.

Votes at a glance - Motion to release the Lake Haven Subdivision Phase 3A performance bond (amount in packet: $196,528): motion moved and seconded; commissioners voted in favor. Names for mover/second not specified on the record.