Greeneville Moves 82 Acres to Industrial, Sets Annexation Hearing

Greeneville City Council on Tuesday, Aug. 18, 2026, approved on first reading a rezoning of four Greeneville Energy Authority parcels on West Andrew Johnson Highway from R-1 Low Density Residential to M-2 High Impact Use Industrial. The Greeneville Sun and WGRV both covered the meeting. Planner Justin Schooley told the council the four parcels total nearly 82 acres. The Greeneville Municipal Planning Commission had already recommended the map change on Aug. 11. Public hearings and second readings are set for Tuesday, Sept. 15. This is not Johnson City's $1.66 tax rate, not the Kingsport quarry, and not the Bristol TIF file.

The same Tuesday night, the council approved a resolution calling for a public hearing and a plan of services on the proposed annexation of 4.19 acres GEA already uses as a gravel parking lot and storage next to its warehouse. Schooley said the tract was a quarry and that this was the first annexation he had handled in the job. GEA plans a two-story office building for its fiber operations. No adjoining property owners had expressed concerns, he said. Newly elected first-ward members Angelo Botta and Flint Carter take office at the Sept. 1 meeting. The industrial map is not final until the Sept. 15 second reading.

What did Greeneville actually put on first reading?

Four existing GEA warehouse and office parcels, already in the town, would move from a low-density residential district to high-impact industrial. WGRV said the Planning Commission action was Aug. 11. The Sun put the acreage at nearly 82. The adjoining 4.19-acre annexation is a separate vote: a resolution to advertise a public hearing and a plan of services, not a completed annexation. Schooley told the council the town is excited to see GEA expand fiber service in Greeneville and Greene County. Treat the two-story office as the published intended use. Do not write a factory, a data center, or a subdivision that is not in the file.

Mayor Cal Doty used the same meeting to appoint Dallas Blair and Courtney Hutcherson to the Planning Commission and to reappoint Anita Ricker and Paige Mengel, replacing Ginny Kidwell and David Durante in September. It was council member Tim Ward's last regular meeting; he and Kidwell did not run again after one three-year term. Ward, a former police chief, had 36 years with the town. Kidwell missed Tuesday and is expected Sept. 1.

What else did the council vote with a dollar figure?

The Sun printed four solid-waste numbers from the same 32-minute meeting. Routine repair of a landfill D6 dozer was approved at $32,078. Repair of a landfill excavator damaged in a brush fire was approved at $19,531; insurance proceeds offset that bill. Both repairs go to Stowers Machinery. A $34,675 bid from Plum Creek Environmental for roll-off containers and a $5,167 bid from Wastequip for a municipal dumpster were the low bids. The Roby Fitzgerald Adult Center moved from a $20 annual membership to a tiered fee: $0 if insurance covers it, $60 with insurance that does not pay, $120 without verification. Those dollars are town operations. They do not reprice a Jonesborough ranch. They do show the council was willing to put exact figures on the record the same night it moved 82 acres toward industrial zoning.

What does an 82-acre industrial first reading do to a Greene County listing?

It tells a buyer the town is willing, on first reading, to take a large residential-zoned GEA holding into M-2. It does not rezone your house. It does not annex your lot. Second reading and the public hearing are Sept. 15. If you own on or near West Andrew Johnson Highway, disclose the first reading and the 4.19-acre annexation notice. If you own in Tusculum, Mosheim, or out toward Baileyton, this file is a Greeneville utility-campus story, not a reason to wait until fall to list.

Northeast Tennessee Association of REALTORS July 2026 new-home median, as already published on this desk, was $365,588 on 56 sales, up 3.8 percent. Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed on Aug. 20 was 6.65 percent. An industrial first reading on land GEA already uses does not rewrite those comps. A two-story fiber office, if it is built after Sept. 15, is a neighbor use. It is not a new subdivision and it is not Johnson City's aquatics tax.

Can I buy the next Tri-Cities house before this one sells?

You can write the offer. A contingent contract still tells the next seller your current house is the risk in the deal. Our proven system puts a written sale date under this house so the next offer is a real buyer.* If you need to be in a different school zone or closer to the hospital before the Sept. 15 hearing, start with a home evaluation and ask about a cash offer the same week.

What should Greeneville and Tri-Cities owners do this week?

1. If you own on West Andrew Johnson Highway, keep the Aug. 18 first-reading minute, the Aug. 11 Planning recommendation, and the Sept. 15 public-hearing date in the listing file.
2. Do not advertise the 82 acres as annexed. The 4.19-acre tract is the annexation file. The 82 acres are already in town and are on first reading only.
3. Price the house to closed comps, not to a fiber-office rendering. The published use is a two-story GEA office.
4. If you are moving toward Johnson City or Kingsport, do not wait on Greeneville's second reading to start the sale plan.

Call the Kings of Real Estate team at 865-365-2280. Licensed agents: $250/mo desk fee.

A first reading is a map signal, not a closing date. If a buyer asks whether Greeneville is going industrial along that highway, the accurate answer is narrower: four GEA parcels already used as warehouse and office land are on first reading to match the use, and a 4.19-acre storage lot next door is in the annexation pipeline. The Sept. 15 hearing is where adjoining owners get the microphone. Until that roll call is in the minutes, list the house you have and put the two dates — Sept. 1 seating and Sept. 15 hearings — in the packet.

What's happening in the Tri-Cities this week

• Greeneville City Council — next regular meeting Tue., Sept. 1 (new first-ward members seated; Kidwell expected)
• Greeneville GEA rezoning and annexation public hearings — Tue., Sept. 15
• Clinch River Valley State Park dedication coverage — published Sat., Aug. 22, Tennessee State Parks

Sources: The Greeneville Sun, Aug. 18 meeting coverage; WGRV, Aug. 19, 2026; Greeneville Municipal Planning Commission action of Aug. 11 as reported by both outlets; Northeast Tennessee Association of REALTORS July 2026 via the live Kings of Real Estate Tri-Cities desk; Freddie Mac PMMS, Aug. 20, 2026.

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*Tracy and seller must agree upon price and possession date. Kings of Real Estate, LLC DBA "Your Home Sold Guaranteed Realty"