Local farm owners urge Sevier County commissioners to reconsider Dollar General plan on Jones Cove Road

Stephen and Shelly Stockton, 5th-generation strawberry farm owners, spoke at the Sevier County Commission meeting on April 15 to oppose a proposed Dollar General on Jones Cove Road, saying the store would increase commercial traffic and accelerate roadway wear and tear.

The Stocktons also raised concerns about what they described as questionable business practices by Dollar General and argued the development would amount to spot zoning. The Stocktons said the parcel in question had been zoned C-2 in 2006 and that past citizen appeals failed; they asked commissioners to reconsider allowing development there. The public comment item was not on the meeting agenda for a vote.

Planning Director James Temple told commissioners that engineering permits remain outstanding: the site-plan approval was deferred pending a stormwater permit and a Tennessee Department of Transportation entrance permit, and that the planning department did not have a rezoning application from the current property owner. Tax records cited by staff showed the parcel had not been sold to Dollar General at the time of the meeting, although the parcel had been subdivided months earlier and had changed hands previously through foreclosure.

Commissioners and staff did not take a formal vote on the specific Dollar General proposal during the meeting. Several commissioners asked staff to continue coordinating with property owners and regulatory agencies so the commission can assess any future rezoning or site-plan requests.