Cheatham County commissioners to consider resolution opposing rural zoning changes

The Cheatham County Board of Commissioners is set to vote April 20 on a resolution opposing changes to rural zoning rules, a move that could further stall efforts to allow large-scale resort development in the county.

The resolution, introduced during a commission workshop April 13 without discussion, states that the county “does not want or need” changes to rural land use or an expansion of commercial development in those areas.

It comes a week after the Cheatham County Planning Commission voted to halt discussion of a zoning amendment tied to a proposed rural resort development near the Narrows of the Harpeth.

The commission’s resolution argues that rural land use is already governed by the county’s existing growth plan, which it says complies with Tennessee law.

“[U]se of rural land in Cheatham County is already governed by our Growth Plan, which was planned, passed, and approved, and has been adhered to, as required by Tennessee law,” the resolution states.

If approved, the measure would signal the county commission’s opposition to broader zoning changes affecting rural land, including proposals that have been under consideration in recent months.

During the workshop’s public forum on April 13, residents continued to voice strong opinions on both sides of the issue.

"The time has come when you have an opportunity to show Cheatham County residents that their voices and upholding our approved growth plan matter more than catering to an outside developer, and I'm optimistic that you will support the will of the people,” Linda Ryder said to the commissioners. 

Kingston Springs Vice Mayor Mike Hargis, who has been an avid supporter of the proposed resort development said, “The best kind of development is tourist development, because those folks come to your community, they enjoy the resort, they spend their money and they go home. They don't add to your school, but they do provide lots of money for policemen, firemen, for Sheriff deputies, for school teachers, for roads, and we desperately need more money in this county for infrastructure.” 

He continued, “I urge you, when you meet next, to reject the resolution that’s floating around that basically would ban any discussion about this.”

District 6 Commissioner Jimmy Hedgepath introduced the resolution.

The proposed zoning changes have been at the center of months of debate tied to a $250 million resort proposal on roughly 560 acres in Kingston Springs.