Revoke Section 11-3

Smyrna has a law outlawing businesses that use supernatural powers under the guise of fortunetelling. A recent lawsuit in Tennessee brought to mind that not all laws are legal...but they do try to keep us Brentwood-lite.

CHAPTER 3
FORTUNE TELLING, ETC.
SECTION
11-301. Fortune telling, etc.
11-302. Violation and penalty.
11-301. Fortune telling, etc. It shall be unlawful for any person to conduct the business of, solicit for, or ply the trade of fortune teller, clairvoyant, hypnotist, palmist, phrenologist, or other mystic endowed with supernatural powers. (1991 Code, § 11-234, modified)
11-302. Violation and penalty. A violation of this chapter shall subject the offender to a penalty under the general penalty provision of this code. Each day a violation shall be allowed to continue shall constitute a separate offense.

Now that lawsuit is in East Ridge Tennessee and already the judge has ruled in a way for the fortune teller.

A federal judge in East Tennessee has blocked East Ridge from enforcing a ban on fortunetellers, hours after a woman filed a lawsuit that says the ordinance violates her free speech rights.

The court order signed Friday by U.S. District Judge Curtis L. Collier granted relief sought in a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of Candice Wohlfeil, a disabled grandmother who describes herself as a "spiritualist."

The restraining order allows Wohlfeil to reopen the booth where she had been reading tarot cards for three years before the city threatened a fine that forced her to shut down

I think that the town council might want to change or drop the law before we end up in a lawsuit. This area already has seen at least one suit.

In 2004, a federal judge in Nashville struck down a ban on fortunetelling in Dickson.

Smyrna tax payers should not have to risk paying to defend a lawsuit that is obviously going to be lost.

I don't believe in 'supernatural powers but if you want to spend $10 to have some cards shown to you I say go for it...but I will laugh at you behind your back. Honest!

A column and a cause

I write a bi-weekly column for the local newspaper and I stick to subject matters of government for the most part. In the years I have written about the town government and council I have had I think two turned down and one of them I simply re-wrote from a different viewpoint. One that was not published was due to timing. It specifically mentioned a town council member by name that was running for re-election and a comment they made did not set to my liking.

On Facebook I came across something that made me decide to publish the column here with the council members name deleted so you can see what I was trying to say and what is an example of the problem as I see it.

I’ve had something rumbling around in the back of my head and it simply has not settled down. A statement made in the [redacted] Smyrna Town council meeting needs to be addressed. I was surprised and a bit disappointed to hear what [redacted] said that evening.

The Division Street church of Christ is moving ahead with its plan of moving the "Tipperary" one room school house to a town property to preserve it. [redacted] commented that the town was of the mind that the church was just in the informational phase. It seems the church is moving forward with fundraising to move the building and now the town is in the position of not having budgeted the money to deal with their end of this historical preservation project.

It was during Council member [redacted] addressing the issue that [redacted] said “a lot of the people that have called me didn’t feel like that the parks were a place to put it, a lot of them indicated that they felt like that the building, as a whole, not just the back portion of it, held historical significance sitting just exactly where it is and the way it is, and it’s not..it’s not for us as the town of Smyrna the council or whatever to tell anybody what they can do with their property or whatever…”

I’m happy that a private organization is attempting the use private money to save part of the history of Smyrna I was rather bothered by the last part where the innocuous comment that the town does not tell people what to do with their property flies in the face of reality.

During the recodification of 2007 the town seemed to be an a regulatory ‘buzz’ passing new laws left and right telling us what to do with our properties. They told us what to do when they added bush height limits near windows, and parking vehicles on certain material. They really enjoyed the governmental ‘high’ of running tow trucks off of people’s property and making people moves their own school buses behind their houses.

Of course controlling items ON a property is much different then controlling the property itself. There was the case of a landowner near Front Street who was not allowed to rezone her property to allow a lawyer’s office to move in, thus quashing her sale of the property. They have made so many rules telling us what to do with our properties that one member of the council found himself in violation of some of the sign ordinances and property ordinances during the package liquor campaign.

Maybe some council members feel that they do not tell us to do with our properties. Maybe they say that to their selves as a way to feel better about all the ordinances that they have passed to make Smyrna into Brentwood-lite, but do not expect me to sit and agree with you. You cannot control the minutia of our lifes and then claim not too…that doesn’t pass the sniff test.

Now understand that I'm not talking piles of trash, or a person who decides to open a junkyard in their backyard...but items like this from Facebook by county commissioner Rhonda Petty Allen.

I disagree with the Town regarding their interpretation of a zoning ordinance that prevents the return of our weekly produce vendor to The Market. Respected unnamed Town Officials agree with me that there is a flaw in this ordinance. If you would like to see produce return to downtown, please make your feelings known to the Town Planner or any Council Member. Hopefully, this will expedite amending the ordinance.

Everything has to be put into neat controllable columns for the town so in my view the town DOES have a desire by act to control our property.

My humble rant for the day.

Chicken Wednesday

Hello and welcome to this weeks edition of Chicken Wednesday where a few articles will point out and hopefully dispel a few bad ideas about backyard chickens.

In Madison Wisconsin backyard chickens are good neighbors.

Janesville council members are considering changing Janesville’s ordinances to allow residents to keep a similar number of backyard chickens. Ordinances now allow chickens only in outlying areas.

People who have spoken out against the idea say chickens are noisy and smelly.

The Rettammells countered those arguments, as did two of their neighbors. The Rettammells’ chickens are more quiet than surrounding dogs, they said. Chickens don’t smell if their waste is taken care of, just like any other animal.

Even though the backyards in the Rettammells’ southwest Madison neighborhood are close together, some neighbors didn’t know chickens had moved in until the Rettammells told them.

I liked how some did not even know they were there until told....unlike howling dogs. That's being a good neighbor.

Other towns have joined the backyard chicken movement.

The Columbia, Missouri, City Council approved an ordinance that allows residents to raise chickens within city limits. In passing its urban-chicken ordinance, Columbia joins Springfield, Independence, St. Louis, Kirksville and Kansas City, Missouri.

While some are still fighting to get the ordinances changed.

Vickie Morgan thinks she won’t ruffle too many feathers with her crusade to bring backyard chickens to Burton.

The retired Grand Blanc school bus driver has asked the City Council to change an ordinance so she can raise hens on her half-acre that will allow hens to cluck around on Morgan’s half-acre yard on Springfield Street.

“I’ve just always wanted chickens,” said Morgan, who has lived in a suburb or city her whole life. “I’ve been told they’re like pets and just to have your own eggs — that’s what gets me, I guess.”

Morgan isn’t alone. People in other communities also are flocking to the idea of backyard chickens.

I'm one of the people "in other communities" who are flocking to the idea....but finding that bad ideas and rumors of the effect of backyard chickens are the greatest enemy to this growing movement.

Here is a video of some backyard chickens in an urban setting suffering the horrors of snow.

Google map of Smyrna Liquor Applications

View Package Liquor Applications - Smyrna in a larger map

This is a map of the applications for stores to sell package liquor in Smyrna. I'll update it monthly as the agendas go up and color code it as to voted for or against. As of right now only one has been voted against...but two I have added will be coming up for their vote before the board tonight.

I'm surprised that none have been added to the South Lowry stretch of road towards Murfreesboro.

Applications NOW!

This was on the town website.

The Town Council will appoint members to the Package Liquor Board during the May 12 meeting. Applications are available in the Town Hall Lobby and here on the website. Completed applications should be submitted to the Town Manager at 315 S. Lowry Street, Smyrna, TN 37167.

A new board and a new set of regulations. If you feel you have time think about applying for this board. PDF application link.

Chickens on my mind...and illegal

To think the fight for chickens crosses borders. Canadians also fights the good fight.

Here is a criminal Canadian.

Sadly they show the neighbor that I feel we all have had to suffer at one point in our existance. That's why my Good Neighbor policy depends on 80% to take care of the hold outs who would find fault in anything.

Here are some chickens that are described as

"These are my illegal backyard chickens. I built this coop. Our weather is good so all they need is summer shade, some protection from rain, wind and predators. There are two americanas, one barr... "

Illegal eggs taste the best.. I promise.



I wonder if I should get my neighbors in on it and have my own little criminal enterprise here in Smyrna? I figure if they don't complain then should I really worry.

Body Snatchers

Maybe the town council has been switched with pod people and we need to look for the shrunken husks of the originals....but I like the replacements so let us keep these new ones for now.

The town council met this week and formalized the final version of the liquor ordinance and damned if I am left in shock and awe.

The first item is the residency requirement.

The Town Council will likely loosen residency rules for those looking to operate a liquor store..
..........
The state only requires anyone who desires to open a store has lived in Tennessee for two years

Out the door. I can understand the feeling that this would be the best for the towns residence, but it had no real purpose in an ordinance and I'm so glad to see it gone.

The next item uses a phrase that simple dazzled me.

...as well as eliminate a cap on the number of stores in town.
...
Officials initially discussed allowing one store per 10,000 residents, but decided that it would be best to allow the market to determine how many stores should be open.

Yes! The limit on numbers was one of the more bothersome things put forth and to see it die simply is glorious. The people and market place should decide. Yes!

They still have a setback of 500 feet. I thought I had heard that 1000 feet was being bantered around, but 500 is better then that.

In the end the new package liquor ordinances as reported in this news article is not as regulatory as I worried it would be. By removing a few of the more goofy parts I'm pretty happy on how the town performed.

Not chicken Wednesday - A smile on my face

I recently was looking at some property that was cheap and my wife and I thought of purchasing it. After our agent showed us the property we drove off and did some running around town. We then decided to drive by again and look at the area a bit more.

The neighbor in the next house was out and we paused and talked to him/her. I asked how the neighborhood was and as we were talking I noticed in his/her backyard a small pen and 3 or so chickens in it. I smiled and exclaimed "you got chickens!". He/she put on a sheepish smile and said "yeah! A few". I told him/her I was also thinking of getting some chickens if we bought the property...if the neighbors did not mind because it was technically against codes.

He/she just smiled and said "I've had no complaints".

It makes me feel good to know that a certain amount of lawlessness is rampant in our town and being a good neighbor is not the same as following the regulations.

Alcohol workshop

The town council in their December workshop talked about the need for a special workshop for the issue of alcohol. They tentatively planned it for late January. Sadly because it is a workshop I cannot comment "why the hell is that needed?" and not get thrown out...but maybe it would be worth it this one time.

The first hot issue for me is the requirement that people who own the shops be local residents. Why? Give me a damn good reason why or else don't add that one. Do out of towners smell funny? Sorry La Vergne but your BO is bad? Is this requirement added to all businesses that Smyrna regulates or is it just to ones that are lucrative and money makers? Is alcohol so bad we should should require that out of towners own the businesses to keep our residents pure and clean?

The next is the arbitrary number of 10,000 residents per single store. Why 10,000? Why not 8,398 or 11,491. The one store to every 10,000 people is totally against the free market. A town should have enough stores to meet the need and if there are too many stores then a lack of profit runs some out. The supply grows to meet the need. Basic economics. The market should decide the number, not a government body.

I plan to sit back and enjoy this process with much more glee then I should. I also plan on having more then a few columns on this subject online and in print.

on the grass

I like getting letters from people who read my columns. One issue that has jumped out is the town's zeal in enforcing the codes on people parking on the grass. The town council meeting this month, the first with Tim Morrell I believe, will have public comments from...

Steve Morgan, 550 Carter Lane – “Parking on Grass”

While I'm only guessing on which side he will come down I hope he is for "it's my yard" side of things.

Sadly there are asses in town who abuse their yard and they are the reason why the town has been 'grounded' from parking there. A form of collective punishment. I fall to the side that feels that there will be victims one way or the other. I just wish the victims are due to too much freedom and not from too much regulation and power in the governments hands.

Here is the town councils agenda for the Dec 9 meeting.

2008-12.09TCA

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

A few well directed emails to the council members that some regulations might need to be loosened or dropped might help Mr. Morgan.

Being a good neighbor...Oregon style

In Philomath Oregon they have poultry codes like I wish Smyrna did.

Here you need to get your neighbor's permission like I suggested.

6.10.080 Restrictions on keeping animals and fowl.

B. Any person desiring to keep any such animal shall submit to the city manager an application for a permit, accompanied by written evidence that three-fourths of the adjoining property owners or residents within a 200-foot radius from the site where the applicant proposes to keep said animals do consent to the keeping of such animals. The city manager shall cause a record to be made of its approval or disapproval of such permit, and provide a copy thereof to the applicant and to the police department.

I can even see how this would be good. To keep it from being to redneck looking.

C. No stable, barn, shed, coop, hutch, pen, or shelter in which any animal is kept shall be located within 30 feet of a city street or sidewalk. Such structures, with their pens and yards, shall be kept clean and sanitary.

Keeping it clean is of course part of being a good neighbor.

E. The manure and offal shall be removed by hauling beyond the city limits, unless used for fertilizer, in which case it shall be spread upon the ground evenly and turned under at once. Manure must be removed with sufficient frequency to prevent offensive odors.

Now that we have a new member on the council I might hit him up with the idea of the value of this plan.

The codified laws passed

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

And yet in the final moments before they voted there was still confusion over issues such as buses, and wreckers.

The issues of wreckers, trucks specifically targeted by Mayor Bob Spivey, was addressed by a few truck driver/owners that showed up. They were less then pleased, as I am also, that the city has decided that these trucks are now "bad". I'll address why their definition of "bad" is so bothersome.

When they could not decide on weight limits James Yates put forward a proposal to amend the exemptions to not just allow school buses, but also allow wreckers in the same section. The silence was deafening as no other council member would second the motion. because of that the fine town of Smyrna has driven wreckers from the drives in residential areas.

If you are someone who've saved money and financed your own wrecker truck, a humble attempt at the American dream. Well the town of Smyrna has voted that your dream is in the way of their current trend of "pretty'fication".

Now the issue of buses show that bad is arbitrary.

Arbitrary is a term given to choices and actions which are considered to be done not by means of any underlying principle or logic, but by whim or some decidedly illogical formula.

The old town codes allowed a certain weight limit, but buses were exempt. There were some complaints from some people, but in any situation there will be someone who complains.

In the recodified meetings they decided to raise the weight limit, but exempt buses.

The old weight limit was 7000 pounds. In the proposed recodified laws they raised it to 12,000 pounds, but removed the exemption for school buses, but kept the exemptions for refuse trucks, emergency vehicles, and some construction vehicles.

Now this implies that school buses are bad. No buses good, one bus bad.

Then in the September meeting they made the change that One was now good, but more was bad. An arbitrary change. Then in this months town meeting they decided that two were good, but more was bad.

One was bad, then good, two was bad, then good. The "pulling numbers out of their arse" method of codes making is a bit sad to view. The mayors desire to remove wreckers was successful as I pointed out, so at least someone ended up happy.

Several issues were not addressed that I thought were even more important. One was the extreme limits placed upon cargo containers, and semi trailers that are being used for storage by many businesses around town. The other was the requirement of a 6 foot opaque fence around property where commercial vehicles are parked when on dirt. I guess if I see an 15 foot tall semi behind that 6 foot fence, I won't notice it. A simple extra charge for businesses to make things look, or at seem pretty.

Limits on businesses, independent drivers, and even you. All under the guise of removing "unsightly" things to make the town look pretty. If I wanted everything I have controlled to make things pretty, then I would move to Williamson county.

Recodification has left a bad taste in my mouth. My view of the council has also been tainted.

Just another day in paradise

Tuesday town meeting

A brief heads up for the town meeting tomorrow night for those attending.

The meeting has only three people listed on the agenda for "citizens comments". The first two are residents from Eastland drive who wish to talk on the issue of "construction behind residence". This is the construction behind the "old" Krogers on South Lowry. Not sure what their complaint is.

The third person is Janet Johnson who wants to address the council on the issue of "Codification of Ordinances Pertaining to School Buses". I wonder if she knows of the changes to material that it has to be parked on such as gravel or cement, the opaque fence that will be required, or the back/side yard issue. Changes to how buses are to kept are multi-faceted, and complex. Much more then just the exception on them weight wise.

In my opinion there are simply too many changes to force down the throat of our town at one time. I think almost all of my concerns would disappear if they voted on two chapters a meeting, instead of all at once. This would allow time for people to read, comment, and maybe suggest alterations to the codes, instead of this week of rushed reading that some are going through.

Yes this would take 7-8 months, but the time would create a stronger feel of an open government, then the "one week is good enough" that is occurring.

Likely tomorrow night, or the day after, I'll post my last "Where oh where did the city codes go?..." unless the meeting gets real interesting. I also suspect that my column for next week in the Smyrna AM will be on the meeting also.

Protect the zoning

Part 1 2 3 4 5 6

The first layer of government a person deals with in their daily life is the police. They are seen driving their patrol cars around any municipality and represent the government.

The second layer of government a person deals with is normally at the town/city level. Be it a mayor, a council, or a codes official. There is a variety of reasons that a person could be dealing with the city, but the first and foremost seems to be zoning issues.

Zoning is a form of regulating the land for the 'good of the city'. Many feel that zoning is required, and a necessary evil for the most part. I would agree on the evil, but not the necessary. A fine example is Houston Texas. This small blurb from wikipedia may sound like a footnote, but it echoes to a larger problem.

Houston, the largest city in the United States without zoning regulations, has expanded without land use planning. Voters rejected efforts to have separate residential and commercial land-use districts in 1948, 1962, and 1993.

Now I channel Bill Murray.

"Without zoning it will be chaos. Dogs and cats living together".

But it isn't like that. While things do not always run smoothly is that metropolis, the way things are controlled are done individually. This is from an article by the Foundation of Economic Education.

Even without zoning, home buyers wanting control over the development of land in their neighborhood have a choice called “deed restrictions.” Usually, these deed restrictions are initiated by an original developer to cover all property purchased in a subdivision for 25 or 30 years. Restrictions are often renewable after that period, and most homes in Houston built since World War II have such renewable restrictions. Enforceable by civic associations with help from the city, the document can prevent businesses or apartments from entering the neighborhood. It can even require residents to keep their lawns manicured or their homes painted only certain colors. However detailed, deed restrictions contain rules voluntarily accepted by home buyers, unlike the edicts issued to property owners by a zoning commission.

Houston shows that a city can work and be successful as a place people would want to live in. It also says a lot when something that so many people claim is required and vital to the success of a cities future, has been voted down three times by the citizens of Houston.

I write this because last night in Clarksville Tennessee a horrible incident occurred that had a lot to do with zoning.

A business owner shot and killed himself during a City Council meeting Thursday night after members voted against his request to rezone his property, witnesses said.

Ronald "Bo" Ward, owner of Bo's Barber Shop, had told the council his business would go under if he couldn't get his home rezoned as commercial. After the 5-7 vote Thursday night, Ward stood and walked toward the council.

"Ya'll have put me under ... I'm out of here," he said before shooting himself in the head with a small handgun.
..........
Ward had said the rezoning would increase his property value, allowing him to secure a loan to offset debt he incurred when he expanded his shop.

I would sound extremely biased if I said the zoning issue was what drove him to this futile act. There surely is much more to this story, more depression and stress in his life that built up inside of him.

What it does show is what seemed to the council as a simple vote of zoning, can mean so much to one person. That last plank he was holding onto to keep his head above the water. When it was removed it was over for him, and he took his life.

I have seen in the past several people come to our own town government asking for changes to allow them to do things. A young women who wanted to have a few more children at her house as she runs a small day care center there. Sadly her yard was to small and as rules must be followed, she was turned down. I viewed her several times during the summer online and the final time in front of the council as she was voted against time after time. I saw a representative of a business who wanted to split their property as it would make it more easy to sell. The board voted against it because of entrances and distances between building, even after the representative said that without the property split the possibility of selling it is low.

I've also seen the council vote against several rezonings as they viewed it as "spot zoning" where one section wants to be commercial, while the rest are residential. What they view as "spot zoning", is a persons land.

Last night the Clarksville town council voted 4-7 against this man, and his last hope was gone.

Many in the room immediately screamed — audience and council members alike — but few moved as Ward's wife Mildred threw herself on her husband.

And people wonder why I'm a small government advocate.

Graffiti ordinance coming to town

The infamous graffiti ordinance is going into effect soon.

Beginning next month, a new graffiti ordinance will take effect in Smyrna .

Anyone with graffiti on their property will have to clean it up or pay a fine.

A lot of laws are passed at all levels of government. No matter how much an issue is studied, a side effect of laws raises it's head pretty regularly. This is called the Law of unintended consequences. The government sees problem A and feel solution A will fix it. The problem is that solution A creates problem B and C.

A good example.

Michael Jenkins works in downtown Smyrna
.........

“It hurts my paycheck at the end of the year ‘maam. I get a bonus at the end of the year. My bonus is strictly based on profits so that’s coming outta my profits,” Jenks told News 2.

This person will now take home less pay, but since the town looks prettier, then that just jim-dandy with some. This is an unintended consequence.

I like this line.

City leaders said they consider cleaning or covering graffiti just another part of property maintenance, just like mowing the lawn.

But if I don't do maintenance on my car, it will not fine me money, it simply breaks and loses value. You end up punishing yourself.

One size doesn't fit all

With the new refurbished downtown a new issue has been brought up. I'm not sure if this is a created issue, or an issue bought to the city councils attention by a local business. Parking.

Now that the downtown revitalization is complete, there may be limitations on how long customers can park in front business on Front Street.

At the Town Council's planning meeting last week, Mayor Bob Spivey introduced the idea of limiting parking in front of businesses on the street to one hour.

Not a bad idea. Someone hogging the parking in front of your business can hurt your sales, so limits can be imposed if needed. That's the hitch. Is it needed?

The city, I'm proud to say, did the right thing to see if there was a problem. They asked the local businesses.

Police Chief Kevin Arnold polled businesses last week about the idea. He said most were in favor of the idea, but some were against it.

In life I have found one size does NOT fit all. All 'one hour' or none. I think it is a bad idea to have one common rule for the front street parking.

Next to Expresso Joe's there is a dry cleaners. Directly in front is a sign that says "Dry cleaners customers only" (or something close to it). While it has no legal authority, it does show what I feel is the best method to address this "issue".

Let the businesses decide if they want one hour or unlimited in front of their business. Since they are the ones who will be impacted by this new rule, let them define it's implementation. Is this idea workable, likely not, but it would be better then one blanket rule for all.