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Board repeals ordinance adopting 2045 plan, then endorses the plan as a resolution 4-3
Summary
After a contentious debate over whether municipalities must adopt comprehensive plans by ordinance under Tennessee law, the Board voted 4-3 to repeal the ordinance that had adopted the City of Tullahoma 2045 comprehensive plan and then passed Resolution 20-45 endorsing the plan in resolution form.
The Board of Mayor and Aldermen voted 4-3 to repeal Ordinance 16-75 — the ordinance that adopted the City of Tullahoma 2045 comprehensive plan — and then approved Resolution 20-45 endorsing the same plan as a resolution.
Opponents of the repeal said the change weakens the city's legal footing on land-use decisions. "I have not heard satisfactory answers to those questions," Alderman Wilson said in a detailed critique of the repeal, citing Tennessee Code Annotated and arguing the municipal legislative body is referenced in the statute as adopting a plan "by ordinance." She continued that repeal could create unnecessary legal uncertainty when rezoning decisions are later challenged. Supporters countered that the planning commission had already adopted the plan by resolution and that, in practice, adopting the plan by resolution would function as a guide for future reviews. "It is not going to stop anything," Alderman Glick said, arguing the change does not alter the plan's substance but will allow the board to adopt it in a different form.
The board opened the evening with a public hearing on the plan. Chuck Dean, a resident who spoke during the hearing, urged the board not to convert the plan from an ordinance to a nonbinding resolution and asked for more transparent agenda documentation about who sponsored the change. After extended board debate over statutory language (Tennessee Code Annotated §§13-3-303 and 13-3-304 were cited during discussion), the repeal motion passed 4-3 and the later resolution acknowledging and endorsing the 2045 comprehensive plan passed 4-3.
The board did not adopt new substantive changes to the plan's text during the meeting; members said the planning commission's certified plan remains available as a guide for zoning and subdivision decisions. The vote means the plan will be acknowledged by resolution rather than remain in place as the earlier ordinance the board repealed. The board indicated they expect the planning commission and staff to continue using the plan as their reference for land-use reviews.
