Scott Davis’ office at the intersection Northshore Drive and Ebenezer Road is a lively jumble of maps, subdivision plats and “For Sale” signs bearing the name Eagle Bend Realty. Whiteboards on the wall list more than a dozen projects at different stages of development, from concept to construction. The shelves hold multiple volumes of “Tennessee Public Acts,” compilations of laws passed by the state Legislature.

One contentious proposal: Allowing only county MPC appointees to vote on zoning outside city limits.

In one corner is a stack of orange, spindly-legged placards bearing public notices of application to the Metropolitan Planning Commission, which developers are required to post on property they are seeking to rezone. Those signs tell you Davis complies with land-use rules and regulations. They do not tell you how he feels about them.

“We are excessively planned,” Davis said, sitting at a large table in the model home that serves as headquarters for his company, Eagle Bend Development. “Some of the nicest subdivisions in all of Knox County -- Holston Hills, Fountain City, Sequoyah Hills, West Hills, Island Home -- all of those historic, great subdivisions were created when we had one single highway commissioner. Are we getting a substantially better product for all the excessive planning? In my opinion, no.”

Davis has been one of the most persistent presences on the Knox County development landscape for the last two decades, both literally and figuratively. He has built 74 subdivisions with about 4,000 lots in that time, but that is not the main reason his name is familiar in the corridors of the City County Building.

His views on the bureaucratic layers of modern development regulations may not be unusual among homebuilders. What sets him apart is how frequently and loudly he voices them -- not only when he has a particular project at stake, but as part of an ongoing campaign to reduce governmental interference and free up what he sees as the healthy workings of the marketplace.

There he was at Knox County Commission on Aug. 27, at a meeting where he didn’t have any items on the agenda, speaking during public forum about rising housing prices and the forces behind them.

“Everything we do from MPC to planning to zoning, all of these things affect home prices,” he told commissioners. “You all have heard me come up here several times and talk about the policies and things going on with MPC. I just want to reiterate a little bit more how that affects housing, how it affects housing prices, how it makes the American dream out of reach for a lot of folks here in Tennessee.”

He decried the length of time it takes to move from concept plan approval for a development to the necessary sign-offs from county and state authorities to possible amendments to sector plans to rezoning -- which must be approved by both MPC and County Commission (or City Council, inside the city) -- all of which can, Davis said, take nine to 12 months before a developer can close on a deal.

“Our planning processes are killing us,” he said.

Gerald Green, the executive director of MPC, is familiar with the full range of Davis’ critiques. He has heard them in public meetings, lawsuits, proposed legislation and abundant correspondence in the three years since he was hired to lead the planning agency, which serves both the city and county.

“He’s certainly an advocate for development, for the interests of the private property owner,” Green said, in an interview in his City County Building office. “That’s one of our challenges -- we have to balance the private property rights with the community rights, and reach some type of reasonable result where development is permitted but not to point that it adversely impacts the community.”

Davis, 54, has a long history of political involvement. A graduate of Webb School and the University of Tennessee, he served one term on County Commission from 1994-98 before running as the Republican challenger for county executive against Democratic incumbent Tommy Schumpert. (“County executive” was the title then given to what we now call “county mayor.” And yes, Democrats still sometimes won countywide office in those days.)

Schumpert was well-liked, including by many in the Republican establishment, and the tempestuous Davis probably made more enemies than friends with comments like this one, to Metro Pulse reporter Betty Bean: “Knoxville is controlled by a powerful few. I call them the Lucky Sperm Club. Well, I'm not a member of the Lucky Sperm Club, and I'm not beholden to anyone.”

Davis lost the election by 9,000 votes and says he has never looked at elected office again. “Thank God I lost,” he said. “I made a promise to my wife that I would not run again. But I still stay very active in politics.”

That activity comes through the Home Builders Association of Tennessee, which lobbies for the housing industry; through support of individual candidates; through service on boards like that of the Public Building Authority, which he currently chairs; and through his frequent appearances and comments at public meetings.

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“If there wasn’t demand for sprawl, there wouldn’t be sprawl. Developers are greedy capitalists. We’re going to go where the money drives it."  – Scott Davis, Eagle Bend Development

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A former stockbroker, Davis founded Eagle Bend Development in 1996, after several years of working in real estate for the Conley family. He named it as a tribute to and continuation of Eagle Bend Construction, a home-building company his grandfather Herbert W. Davis founded in Clinton in 1956.

Davis has done some commercial development, but these days his focus is all on residential construction -- mostly in Knox County, and all of it outside city limits.

“There’s a lot of land in the city that I would develop if it was in the county,” he said. “It’s just extremely problematic to develop in the city.”

State Rep. Bill Dunn, a Republican who has interacted with Davis many times over the years, says the developer doesn’t give up easily. He noted that despite his compact frame, Davis played as a linebacker for the state championship Webb football team in 1981. “That says something about tenacity,” Dunn said.

Davis acknowledges that regulations aren’t the only obstacles he encounters in building his suburban subdivisions, which often entail converting former family farms to residential use. Neighbors, who typically live in subdivisions themselves, frequently object to the stress that new housing can put on traffic flow and school crowding.

“I 100 percent understand that,” he said. “If I had a big field in my backyard that I didn’t have to pay taxes on or maintain, I would like it, too. But if I’m unwilling to buy it, I shouldn’t have the right to control it.”

Janice Tocher, the chairwoman of MPC, said Davis could do himself some favors by working more cooperatively with residents who may be affected by his projects. “Scott Davis is one of the worst developers to reach out to the community,” Tocher said. “MPC has tried to let developers know, go meet with the community, because oftentimes they just need to be aware of what’s going on, and oftentimes they’ll buy into it.”

Davis does agree with those alarmed residents on one major issue: Public infrastructure in the outlying areas of the county is lagging behind population growth. “In my opinion, it’s always the government’s responsibility to keep up with growth,” he said. “A lot of places, the roads are ahead of the development. Here, we’re 100 percent reactionary.”

But asked whether that means the county -- which hasn’t raised property taxes since Schumpert was in office -- should consider a tax increase to pay for infrastructure improvements, Davis grinned and said, “I’m never in favor of tax increases.” Instead, like the former county commissioner he is, he pointed toward perceived bloat in the school system’s budget.

His latest political effort grew out of his frustration last year when MPC voted to require sidewalks in all new subdivisions, which Davis said will increase development costs and exacerbate problems with housing affordability. Because of the way the planning agency was set up under state law, those regulations did not require approval by County Commission or City Council.

Davis pushed successfully for state legislation this year to change that, and now changes in subdivision regulations will need approval from the local legislative body. Green said he supported that change. “I think if something becomes a regulation, adopting those regulations is a legislative function,” the MPC head said.

But he does not support a broader bill Davis pushed last year and is promising to bring back next year, which would allow only MPC commissioners appointed by the county mayor to vote on land-use issues outside city limits. Currently, eight of the 15 commissioners are county appointees, the other seven are appointed by the city mayor, and all of them vote on all issues that come to MPC.

Davis’ argument is that, since he doesn’t live in the city, he shouldn’t be subject to the jurisdiction of commissioners appointed by a mayor whose election he has no say in. “If I’m a county resident, I’m being disenfranchised,” he said.

Tocher, who was appointed by city Mayor Madeline Rogero, said she hasn’t heard support for the idea from any of her fellow MPC commissioners, whether they’re city or county appointees.

“The decisions that we make are not city or county decisions. We are the Metropolitan Planning Commission,” she said. “When you look at the votes on MPC, it’s not that all county votes are one way or all city votes are one way on any given issue.”

Davis knows that his developments fall into the category that is often derided as sprawl, and he is unapologetic about it. With Knox County continuing to grow, he said, building more housing is essential to keeping prices affordable for people at all income levels.

“If there wasn’t demand for sprawl, there wouldn’t be sprawl,” Davis said. “Developers are greedy capitalists. We’re going to go where the money drives it. The developers are blamed for doing what the client desires.”

And while developing inside city limits isn’t attractive to him, he said he admires developers like Tim Hill and David Dewhirst who have converted historic downtown buildings into and condos and apartments.

“Those are great guys, and they’re going a great service for the city of Knoxville,” he said. “But they’re not appealing to everyone. My clients don’t want to live in a loft on Gay Street.”