Kingston Springs takes up rural resort zoning after county debate stalls

Town officials spent several hours this month working through a proposed zoning ordinance that would create a new planning tool for large-scale rural resort developments, with Kingston Springs Planning Commission members requesting revisions to several key provisions before the proposal returns for further discussion Aug. 13.

The draft ordinance would establish a Transitional Mixed-Use Planned Unit Resort Development (TMU-PURD) district, creating a framework for destination-style developments that combine residential lodging, recreational amenities, commercial services and significant open space on large tracts of land.

Earlier this year, the Cheatham County Commission halted discussions of a proposed county-wide zoning amendment that would allow rural resort developments. The county’s proposed amendment was looking to establish regulations for “Rural Mixed-Use Planned Unit Developments” countywide, a designation tied to a proposed resort project near the Narrows of the Harpeth in Kingston Springs.  

Since early 2025, Nashville developer Michael Hayes, CEO of C.B. Ragland, has had his sights set on a property of more than 500 acres to build a resort inspired by Blackberry Farm in East Tennessee. 

Throughout the Kingston Springs Planning Commission meeting on July 9, commissioners repeatedly emphasized that the discussion centered on the language of the ordinance itself – not a specific development proposal.

However, City Planner Sharon Armstrong disclosed that C.B. Ragland’s attorney, Jim Murphy, contacted her. “I received a call from Jim Murphy, who was representing the entity who expressed interest in this type of development,” Armstrong said during the Planning Commission’s workshop on July 23. “Mr. Murphy said, 'There's some things in there I'd like to change,’ and I said … ‘When it goes back before the Planning Commission, feel free to come to the meeting and express your concerns at that time.’”

One of the commission’s longest discussions focused on whether the ordinance unintentionally encourages private, gated-style resort communities by requiring commercial amenities to be located away from the edges of a development.

As currently drafted, the ordinance states that retail and commercial services "shall be designed to prohibit use from non-resort users and guests by locating such services well within the site rather than on its perimeter."

Several commissioners questioned whether that language could be interpreted as requiring restaurants, spas and other amenities to be exclusive to resort guests rather than leaving that decision to future developers.

Commissioners also spent considerable time discussing the ordinance's proposed land-use mix requirements.

The current draft would require developments to reserve 25% of the property for residential uses, 25% for commercial uses and 50% as open space, with a maximum overall residential density of three dwelling units per gross acre on sites of at least 200 contiguous acres.

The proposal remains a draft and will continue to be revised before returning for additional review.

The Planning Commission is scheduled to continue its discussion of the proposed TMU-PURD ordinance during its Aug. 13 meeting.

Additionally, the Town of Kingston Springs has scheduled a joint Board of Commissioners and Planning Commission meeting for Thursday, Aug. 20, ahead of the commission’s regular monthly meeting. An agenda has not yet been published.