Shore v Maple Lane Farms

Bill Herbert, the Metro Zoning Administrator, told me the other day that the Tennessee Supreme Court has granted permission for an appeal in the Shore v Maple Lane Farms case which we have discussed previously here. As you may recall, the Tennessee Court of Appeals took a fairly broad approach to agricultural zoning, and the Tennessee Right to Farm Act. The fact that the Tennessee Supreme Court has decided to review the case may indicate that the Supreme Court has a more conservative approach in mind.

In any event, it should be pretty interesting. Our Supreme Court is very knowledgeable concerning land use planning matters, and this is another area of zoning and land use which needs some attention. Perhaps the court can give us some guidance about how to apply agricultural zoning, including the limits of what it means to be agricultural.