During the public-comment period, resident Ken Young urged the Planning Commission to tighten application procedures after he said the Wilson County Water Authority’s executive director, Chris Lieber, signed site-plan and subdivision applications that the owner had not authorized. Young told commissioners the landowner filed a declaration in court Dec. 23 asserting he never signed the application and that condemnation procedures later moved forward; Young said the authority obtained an order of condemnation Jan. 14 after a delay while state approval was pending.

Young presented a packet of documents and urged the planning office to require clearer owner certification on intake forms, including a sworn statement and notarization similar to examples he provided from other jurisdictions. “This has been a colossal waste of time and money,” Young said, arguing the commission should not accept applications unless they are signed by owners or authorized representatives.

Planning staff said they have prepared revised intake language that would require applicants to certify under penalty of law that they are either the owner or authorized to act for the owner. Christopher (planning staff) said he will implement the revised intake form unless the commission objects; commissioners agreed implementation was appropriate. Christopher also said he will research whether the commission’s bylaws can be amended to allow virtual attendance and whether state law authorizes virtual voting for planning commissioners; he noted that state statutes permit limited virtual attendance for specific boards but not a blanket allowance.

Young’s packet and the staff discussion drew attention to the limits of the planning office’s intake procedures and the interaction between condemnation processes, agency filings and public notification. The commission did not take formal action on the underlying condemnation matter (which involved the Water Authority and property owner) during the meeting; Young said the case had been filed in court and that Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) reviews and a separate condemnation process were part of the record he presented.

Planning staff said they will adopt the revised application language and will return with any proposed bylaw amendments regarding virtual attendance if state law permits.