Church disconnects city water at RV park, uses well
Covenant Life Church in Norris has complied with one of two “stop work” orders issued in May by the city of Norris, by disconnecting its Solid Rock RV Park from the city water supply.
The church had previously extended city water service to the RV park behind the church from the line feeding the church’s main building, but had done so without getting the permits and inspections required by the city.
Norris City Manager Adam Ledford said Monday that the church had notified the city in mid-June that it had disconnected the RV park from the city water supply, and a subsequent inspection by the Norris building inspector confirmed that.
But no action has yet been taken to close the RV park/campground, as the second “stop work” order demanded, citing the church’s failure to obtain the proper zoning and planning approvals, and building permits necessary before any work could be started on the facility.
Ledford said the city is now looking at its next legal steps to enforce the second order.
Pastor Tony McAfee made note of the change in water service to the campground during his sermon on Sunday, July 2, saying: “I’m excited about the campground; I’m excited that we got our well all serviced.”
City officials have said they don’t know exactly when the church extended the city water service to the RV/campsites and bathhouse, but they do know there was never any application to the city for the proper permits to do so. It apparently was about a year after the RV park opened for business in 2021.
Some former residents have said that the RV park was connected to a well on the property for a long time before the connection was made to the city water line. They reported that the well water was muddy-looking and had an odor, and that they were warned by church officials not to drink the water.
The church was served legal notices by the city dated May 5, mandating that the church disconnect the city water service to the campground, and to shut down the facility itself, by July 3, or face enforcement intervention from the city.
Those notices required the church to comply “immediately,” with the admonition that “Any person who fails to comply with this STOP WORK ORDER shall be subject to the penalties as prescribed by law,” citing “Sections 114 and 115 of the International Building Code as adopted by Norris Municipal Code.”
Both orders were signed by the Norris building inspector.
The first, “Pertaining to utility connections,” stated that the church, at 151 Sycamore Place, was in violation of the Norris Municipal Code for:
1. Unauthorized installation, alteration, and/or enlargement of plumbing system without a permit.
2. Unauthorized connection of service utility (water or sewage system) without a permit.
This order stated:
“You are ordered to disconnect all unpermitted water connections to the Solid Rock RV Park until the City of Norris Building Inspector has issued the required permits and inspected the property to confirm it is no longer in violation of the provisions of the Code.”
And the order issued this warning:
“Failure to disconnect the unpermitted connections within 60 days from the date of this STOP WORK ORDER will result in water services being disconnected and the single water meter serving the property will be locked. Due to the unauthorized installation, alteration, enlargement and/or connection, water services will terminate to the entire property.”
The second order, “Pertaining to construction and occupancy without the required permits,” said the church was in violation of Norris Municipal Code as follows:
“1) Unauthorized construction of a building or structure without a permit.
“2) Unauthorized use or occupancy of building or structure before issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
“You are ordered to discontinue the use and occupancy of the Solid Rock RV Park until the City of Norris Building Inspector has issued the required permit(s), inspected the property, and issued a certificate of occupancy.”
The orders resulted from the church’s construction and operation of its RV park and campground about three years ago without first obtaining the required zoning and building permits from the city of Norris.
The state of Tennessee also has accused the church of operating “an organized camp” on its property without having the required health permit to do so, according to a letter sent to the church’s attorney, Daniel Sanders, on Jan. 5 by the Tennessee Department of Health.
Accordingly, the Health Department asked the church to provide “additional information” about the “Solid Rock Retreat Camp,” which the church opened without first obtaining the necessary rezoning or permits.
Late last year, Covenant Life told the city through the church’s attorney that it “does not intend to apply for a rezoning” of its property to allow for a campground/RV park.
The RV park – which the church recently began referring to as a “retreat,” sits behind and beside the church, which fronts on Andersonville Highway. Entrance to the park is off Norris Freeway, across from Cross Pike Road.
Instead, “The Church (together with its 500-plus congregation) intends to rely on state and federal laws that protect the Church from unduly burdensome, unreasonable, or discriminatory zoning or land use regulations,” Knoxville lawyer Sanders wrote to the Norris city attorney in a letter dated Nov. 1, 2022.
In that letter, Sanders asserted that the Solid Rock RV Park, which has 16 spaces and was then operating its own website where would-be visitors could make reservations, is merely a ministry of the church and does not charge people to stay in the park.
Sanders, in the letter, asserted that “…the Church provides overnight parking and accommodation to congregants, missionaries and others in need as a form of Christian retreat and an exercise of deeply held religious belief. I am informed that no commercial transactions are involved.
“Rather, the Church accepts offerings essential to the maintenance of its facilities on a free-will [sic] basis. Individuals who utilize the overnight parking areas receive prayer and reading of Holy Scripture. They are expected to attend worship services, commune with Church leaders, and participate in other religious programs available on the Church property.”
However, the church’s actual practices, at least until recently, have not seemed to follow those guidelines. No mention was made on the RV park’s website of the optional nature of the camping fees or that campers would be required to participate in the church’s religious activities.
Indeed, several people who have stayed at the campground have reported that they were charged regular camping fees for their RVs, and were never told anything about their fees being optional “donations” to the church, as Covenant Life now contends.
One such former resident told The Courier News last week that he lived in his RV at the park for 15 months, beginning Dec. 8, 2021, paying $800-a-month rent by automatic bank draft, until the church evicted him in April 2022 for nonpayment.
He said he had been in the hospital, and that when he got out, he was only able to pay $700 of his $800 rent for March 2022. But the church put an eviction notice on his front door, and forced him to move out by the end of April, he said.
Covenant Life Church Pastor McAfee had not responded to a call from The Courier News on Monday about the status of the campground as of the newspaper’s publication deadline on Tuesday for this week’s issue.