Northcutt challenges Tanyard Hill process

After an 11-2 rejection in July, the rezoning returned to discussion Monday with procedural criticism, council pushback

11:05 p.m. Aug. 17, 2026

DUANE CROSS
MCO Publisher•Editor

Four weeks after rejecting Joe Denby’s Tanyard Hill Road rezoning request 11-2, the Moore County Metro Council gave a scaled-back version new life Monday night, approving it 8-5 on first reading.

The revised request covers about 9.4 acres along the road frontage, leaving nearly 14 acres in agricultural zoning.

The vote followed a pointed exchange over how the original proposal had been handled. Nicholas Northcutt, Denby’s surveyor, challenged the county’s process and disputed statements made during the July meeting that the project had been submitted backward, drawing immediate pushback from Council Chair Amy Cashion and a later rebuke from District 4 Council member Bradley Dye.

Northcutt Lays Out the Timeline

Northcutt opened by directly challenging the way the project had been characterized at the July 20 council meeting.

“It was stated that I submitted the request for rezoning out of order and that we did it backwards,” Northcutt said. “This is simply not true.”

Northcutt said Denby hired him in late February to divide the property. Because he had recently worked on another major subdivision in Moore County, Northcutt said he understood that rezoning needed to come first.

He said their first attempt to apply for rezoning came March 24.

According to Northcutt, Metro Moore County Codes Enforcer Christine Purdom told them they could not submit the rezoning request without a plat, and that rezoning and a preliminary plat were typically submitted together.

“To me, it made no sense to do division work for a plat that we didn’t even know was going to get rezoned or not,” Northcutt said.

Still, he said, they followed the instructions.

When they returned April 21 with a plat, Northcutt said they were told the necessary signatures also had to be obtained. They were unable to secure all of them on short notice and returned May 19, when Northcutt said the rezoning request and preliminary plan were finally submitted.

“If I made a mistake, here is where I made a mistake,” Northcutt said, acknowledging that he failed to make sure someone representing Denby attended the June 2 Planning and Zoning meeting.

With no representative present, the commission took no action.

Northcutt said he contacted Planning and Zoning Chairman Dexter Golden the following day, accepted responsibility, and asked whether the rezoning could remain on schedule for the next Metro Council meeting.

Northcutt said Golden told him no exceptions could be made and the process had to be followed “by the book.”

Northcutt then purchased a hard copy of Moore County’s zoning ordinance from the codes office.

“There are no protocols or procedures for the submission of a rezoning request in y’all’s zoning ordinance,” Northcutt told the council.

Northcutt returned to Planning and Zoning on July 7 expecting the commission to consider the rezoning and preliminary plat, but no recommendation was made.

Golden pointed to Moore County’s newer five-acre minimum for agricultural property and said the Denby proposal was the first major subdivision to come before the commission since that change.

Northcutt questioned whether Planning and Zoning was supposed to send either a positive or negative recommendation to the Metro Council.

The commission later scheduled a special-called meeting for July 17 and unanimously recommended the rezoning, allowing the request to reach the council three days later.

Northcutt said the late scheduling prevented him from responding publicly July 20 because, he said, speakers are required to sign up a week before a council meeting. The special Planning and Zoning meeting left him only one business day.

He also said he could not find instructions on the county website or in the zoning ordinance explaining how to sign up for public comment.

Northcutt Says Comments Hurt His Reputation

Northcutt took particular exception to statements suggesting the project had been submitted backward or that he had failed to learn Moore County’s ordinances.

He said Golden already knew the history because Northcutt had explained it during their June phone conversation.

“This amounts to slander and defamation of my business and my name and my reputation,” Northcutt said.

Northcutt also criticized two subsequent news reports, saying they repeated the characterization that he had not followed the process correctly. He asked that his version of the timeline be reflected in future coverage.

Cashion immediately disputed Northcutt’s characterization of the July discussion.

Cashion: Discussion Was About Procedure

“I don’t think anybody spoke your name last month,” Cashion said. “I’ve never heard your name. If I heard it, I forgot.” She said council members were discussing procedure – not Northcutt, his company, or his reputation.

“It was all talked about in procedural formats,” Cashion said. “This is what we expected. This didn’t happen. It was not anything to do with anybody’s name or company or their reputation.”

Cashion said some of the July discussion may have reflected uncertainty about the county’s own process. “If anything, it might have been even us talking about our own procedures, about what order it should go in and all of those things,” she said.

She also defended Golden after Northcutt questioned the Planning and Zoning chairman’s familiarity with county procedures. “Our chairman of our Planning Commission does a darn good job,” Cashion said. “And he doesn’t have to have everything memorized.”

She added: “So I don’t appreciate that you talk about him in that regard. He does a very good job.”

Northcutt pushed back on Cashion’s characterization of the July discussion.

“That’s not really how it was said, and that’s not how it was ran in the paper,” Northcutt said. “And when they’re talking about who submits it, I’m the surveyor. They’re talking about me.”

He also disputed Cashion’s description of his experience with Golden.

“My experience with Mr. Golden was not what you just described,” Northcutt said. “And I don’t volunteer. I do this full-time, and I have for over 25 years, and I’ve never experienced anything like this in any of the multiple municipalities or counties that I have worked in for years.”

“I strive to go by the book, and I strive to do it right,” he added, “and I’ve never ran into this before.”

At the same time, Cashion acknowledged that the county has procedural work to do.

“Do I say that we probably do have some way that we should clean up our procedures and things like that?” she said. “We know that we need to do some of that work.”

“We’re not trying to say you did a bad job,” Cashion added. “We’re trying to figure out now how to go forward.”

Denby Narrows Rezoning Request

Northcutt also told council members Denby is proposing a narrower rezoning request.

He said additional research showed multiple properties touching Denby’s land are already zoned R-2, which he argued addresses concerns about creating an isolated pocket of residential zoning.

More significantly, Northcutt said Denby proposes rezoning only the road-frontage portion containing the planned residential lots while leaving the remaining 13 acres in agricultural zoning.

Northcutt said that would prevent further subdivision of the rear portion under R-2 zoning.

The size of the rezoned area had been one concern during the July council meeting, when members questioned whether changing the larger parcel to R-2 could eventually allow more homes than those shown on the preliminary plan.

Northcutt also said the soil work has received TDEC approval, that driveway concerns have been addressed by the Highway Department, and that the water department and emergency services have raised no objections.

“I just want everybody at the table here tonight to understand that Mr. Denby has been trying to build on his property since March,” Northcutt said, “and we have made every effort to go by the book.”

He urged the council to grant Denby’s rezoning request.

Sparks Explains Why the Land Was Sold

Former property owner Mike Sparks said he initially tried to sell his mother’s property as a single parcel but could not find a buyer at the original $410,000 price.

He said the appraisal became important after his mother entered a nursing home and that he had been advised that selling substantially below the appraised value could leave the family responsible for the difference.

Meanwhile, Sparks said nursing home care was costing about $115,000 a year. “I didn’t have much choice,” he said.

Sparks said he spent about a year trying to maintain the property while looking for a buyer. Eventually, the price was reduced to $382,000, and Denby agreed to purchase it.

“Do I like seeing it developed? No,” Sparks said. “But the man bought it. He got me out of a stinky situation. So I’m glad.”

Sparks said the property's geography also makes five-acre divisions difficult. Much of the rear portion consists of hillsides and bluffs, he said, making some areas difficult to reach and less practical as separate tracts.

Sparks said he could make more working a regular five-day job with weekends and holidays off than tending land around the clock. “The modern times, the world’s changed,” Sparks said.

He described the decline in farming as sad but as part of a broader change in rural life, and asked council members to consider what development can bring, including jobs and additional tax revenue.

“You can get tax revenue off of two houses here, three houses, or four houses, or six houses,” Sparks said.

“It’s just a changing time,” he said.

Dye Pushes Back Late in Meeting

Near the end of the meeting, Dye returned to comments made earlier in the evening.

Dye objected to Northcutt criticizing council members and then leaving before the meeting ended. “I just feel if you want to make a public comment to tell this stuff and accuse us of saying stuff, you should at least complete the meeting,” he said.

Dye also challenged Sparks’ comments about the decline of farming in Moore County, including Sparks’ reference to “slop” used for livestock feed. “This may hurt some feelings when I say this, because I have farmed my whole life, but just because they cut the slop off does not mean there’s not farming in this community,” Dye said.

He added: “And just because you feed slop does not mean you were a farmer.”

Dye, who said farming remains a major part of his income, rejected the suggestion that agriculture in Moore County is simply a thing of the past.

He closed by again addressing Northcutt’s departure. “If you’re going to, you know, be a man, stay around for the meeting and talk,” Dye said. “Don’t leave after you get done.”

Northcutt was no longer present when Dye made the remarks.

Revised Proposal Passes First Reading

On Monday, a scaled-back rezoning request for the Tanyard Hill property moved forward after clearing first reading on an 8-5 vote.

The latest version covers about 9.4 acres along the road frontage of the same tract, leaving nearly 14 acres zoned agricultural.

The proposal represents a more limited approach following the Metro Council's rejection of a broader rezoning request for the property last month.

Eight council members voted for the revised measure: Peggy Blackburn, Arvis Bobo, Robert Bracewell, Gerald Burnett, Amy Cashion, Dexter Golden, Greg Guinn, and Jimmy Hammond.

Five voted against it: Bradley Dye, Douglas Carson, Marty Cashion, Sunny Rae Moorehead, and Shane Taylor.

Houston Lindsey and John Taylor were absent.

The 8-5 vote advances the rezoning request to a second reading – at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept, 21 at the American Legion, 119 Booneville Hwy. – before the zoning change becomes final. Public comment will be open at 6:20 p.m.