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Article published Aug 21, 2008 Shore sues officials over farm concert decisions; $500,000 suit targets Fields, Goddard
By Joel Davis of The Daily Times Staff
Greenback resident Velda J. Shore has opened a new front in her fight to prohibit Maple Lane Farms from holding any more concerts.
She's suing Building Commissioner Roger Fields and county mayor's attorney Rob Goddard for allegedly conspiring to twist the county zoning appeals process against her.
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in Blount County Circuit Court, seeks $500,000 in damages from Fields and Goddard because their actions allegedly injured Shore's reputation and subjected her to public hatred and ridicule.
"Plaintiff alleges that the communications and decisions rendered in her absence and without her input were in violation of the county procedures outlined within the county zoning regulation, and that Fields and Goddard totally usurped the authority of their own zoning board," attorney Tom Mabry wrote in the complaint.
When contacted Wednesday, neither Fields nor Goddard had received notice of the lawsuit or had any comment.
Mabry, who seems to have become the go-to man for legal action against Blount County officials, is representing Shore. Mabry also represents Linda King, who is challenging the South Blount County Utility District's decision to begin fluoridation of its water supply, and Kathy Wright, who has filed a defamation suit against County Mayor Jerry Cunningham.
BZA limits concerts
In January, the Board of Zoning Appeals voted to limit Maple Lane Farms owner Bob Schmidt to hosting only one concert per year after Shore complained about traffic and noise. Shore later filed a lawsuit asking the court to permanently prohibit "any other activity that is not agricultural at Maple Lane Farms."
This new lawsuit takes aim at the behind-the-scenes actions that took place before the BZA decision. In a Nov. 1 letter to Schmidt, Fields wrote that "helicopter rides and concerts do not fall under the exemption for agricultural uses, nor are they permissible uses in the Rural District 1 Zone. The helicopter rides must cease within the next 30 days. Failure to comply will result in further legal action."
In a Dec. 13 letter to Shore, though, Fields seems to have changed his mind:
"After further review of our zoning regulations and with the legal opinion from the attorney for the county mayor, it is my interpretation that the music festivals are not in violation as long as they are incidental temporary uses on the property."
Alleges civil conspiracy
Shore claims this amounts to a civil conspiracy.
"I don't think she's alleging a motive," Mabry said. "What's happened by the change of opinion, if you will, of Roger Fields after he spoke with Mr. Goddard -- and apparently the Schmidts -- the burden of going forward with an appeal changed from the Schmidts and Maple Lane Farms to Velda Shore.
"She was the one who was required to appeal, rather than the Schmidts. In the lawsuit that makes a big difference. In the perception of Mrs. Shore in the community that makes a big difference ... There are countless letters ... that castigate Velda Shore for what she was doing."
The complaint states that "the letter advised that Goddard had conferred with County Mayor Jerry Cunningham, and opined after meetings with the Maple Lane Farms owners and with Mayor Cunningham, that the helicopter rides must cease, but that the musical festivals, together with the corn maze and the other activities herein noted, were permissible uses within the R1 zoning."
The letter, marked as Exhibit 2, however, includes no mention of Cunningham having any input. During a telephone interview on Wednesday, Mabry seemed to back away from this claim.
"Mayor Cunningham may have not had any input into the communication process," Mabry said. "We think he probably did, but we can't prove that based on the letters we have in our possession."
In her original lawsuit, Shore claimed the Maple Leaf Farms property is not zoned for any use outside agricultural, and that the "commercial and tourist activities" that have gone on there have "brought increased traffic, loud noise and congestion to a peaceful residential area that is neither designed for nor zoned for these commercial and tourist activities.
"Moreover, the increased volume of traffic and activity in the area has resulted in trash being littered along the streets of nearby subdivisions, including that of the plaintiff (Shore)."