Upper Cumberland citizens are increasingly calling on local county commissioners to consider zoning as a way to protect their property from industry and urban sprawl.
UCDD Deputy Director Tommy Lee said Cannon, Macon, and Smith are the closest counties with countywide zoning.
“None of the other counties in the region have zoning and I don’t think that’s a coincidence,” Lee said. “Those three counties specifically are seeing overflow from Rutherford, Wilson and Sumner counties into their county and so their citizens want some level of protection of the uses that are moving into their counties and so that’s why they have adopted zoning.”
Lee said most growth typically occurs within cities because those areas possess the necessary infrastructure, including water volume, sewer systems, and quality roads. Lee said while cities adopt zoning ordinances and counties adopt zoning resolutions, both serve the same function of assigning specific uses to land.
“Most folks that are moving to Tennessee, they move here for the lack of regulations,” Lee said. “And in 11 of our 14 counties, if you live outside of the city limits, you don’t have any zoning and most of them don’t have what we’d call property maintenance codes and things of that nature. But when something threatening comes in, then people wonder why we don’t have something to protect them.”
Lee said zoning works by dividing a county into districts for like-minded uses, such as residential, commercial, industrial, and agricultural. Lee said these classifications allow local governments to determine exactly what types of developments are permitted in specific areas.
“For an example, if you have a home or if you have a residential neighborhood with half-million dollar homes, you have zoning to prevent a slaughterhouse from going next door, or, you know, other things that could be detrimental to residential living,” Lee said.
Lee said recent public outcry regarding data centers and cryptomining operations has prompted more citizens to ask their county commissioners for protections. Lee said a zoning resolution is the only legal mechanism available in Tennessee to provide protection from those specific types of land uses.
“Citizens can talk to their county commissioners and tell them that they want protections from these types of uses,” Lee said “And in Tennessee, the only way that you can get protection from these types of uses is a zoning resolution.”
Lee said the process for adopting zoning must begin with a local planning commission, which is responsible for creating a set of regulations and a zoning map. Lee said state law requires public notice and a public hearing before a county legislative body can vote to adopt a resolution.
“And it’s kind of a double-edged sword,” Lee said. “Most people don’t want to be told what they can do with their property, but they certainly don’t mind telling their neighbors what they can do with theirs.”
