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Planning consultant leads BZA "101" on variances, special exceptions and open-meetings rules
Summary
Amanda Harrington, the board’s new planning consultant, gave a training at a Board of Zoning Appeals meeting covering the board’s quasi‑judicial role, Tennessee statutory limits on variances, Sunshine Law restrictions, administrative review and recordkeeping.
Amanda Harrington, a planning consultant with RCS Planners, led a Board of Zoning Appeals training session at the meeting, outlining the board’s legal limits and procedural responsibilities.
Harrington told members, “If you take nothing else from today, you’re a quasi judicial body,” emphasizing that appeals from the board’s decisions go to chancery court and that the board’s powers are constrained by state law and the local zoning resolution.
The session summarized key legal authorities and practical rules that govern BZA decisions. Harrington cited Tennessee Code Annotated sections 13-7-107 through 13-7-109 and the local zoning resolution (Article 8, Section 8.07) as the statutory and…
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