Cookeville council approves first reading to rezone Bill Smith Road parcel from RS-20 to RS-10 amid neighborhood opposition

Cookeville — The Cookeville City Council voted 5-0 on Aug. 7 to approve on first reading Ordinance O25‑7‑11, rezoning a parcel on Bill Smith Road from RS‑20 (low-density single‑family) to RS‑10 (low‑to‑moderate density single‑family). The property, which the planning staff said consists of about 3.68 acres (3.86 acres if including right-of-way), would be eligible for smaller lots if sewer service is extended to the site.

Why it matters: The rezoning would allow greater lot density than surrounding RS‑20 neighborhoods and drew sustained public opposition at the council’s public hearing, where nearby residents raised concerns about traffic, drainage, environmental contamination from past dumping, and precedent for upzoning rural parcels.

Planning staff presented the request and background, saying the applicant has entered a cost‑share agreement with the city to extend sanitary sewer to the area. "The subject property consists of approximately 3.68 acres," planning staff said in the presentation, and staff noted the June 2024 city council approval of a cost‑share to extend sewer that would serve 34 parcels along Bill Smith Road and that the project was estimated then at $344,000. Staff also told council that bids originally scheduled for June 24, 2025 were delayed after addenda from the Water Quality Control division.

Neighborhood residents brought several issues to the council. "We bought our homes knowing that our future builds would follow the same rules as our property," said James Lokes, a Bill Smith Road resident, adding that he has observed decades of dumping on the parcel and questioned the safety of building homes on it. Luke Hadden, another nearby resident, said the rezoning request amounted to "spot zoning" that could set a precedent and argued sanitary sewer was not currently available. "This proposed zoning is not fitting for our neighborhood," Hadden said.

Other residents echoed concerns about traffic volume and site stability. "That road is busy and dangerous," said Susan Castle of 1076 Bill Smith Road, and Christian Casmark, who lives across the street from the parcel, said heavy runoff and a wet-weather conveyance traversing the property raised safety concerns.

Council members and staff responded that differences among RS zoning districts are typically treated as density changes rather than a change of use. "The change in density, not a change in use," the city attorney said when explaining spot‑zoning legal standards. Staff said that engineering, geotechnical studies, and stormwater requirements would be required during subsequent development review, and that any development would have to meet the city's standards.

The planning division noted the city's future land use plan (Cookeville 2030) designates the area as lower‑density residential and that RS‑10 is consistent with that plan where sewer infrastructure is provided. Planning staff also said the developer initially requested RS‑5 and later accepted RS‑10 as a compromise; a conceptual plan submitted with the application depicted as many as 12 lots but staff cautioned the concept was preliminary and unengineered.

Council action: After opening and closing the public hearing and a brief council discussion, the council voted to approve the ordinance on first reading. The council did not adopt development plans or engineering approvals as part of the rezoning; those would be required in subsequent permitting steps.

What happens next: Because this was a first‑reading rezoning, further administrative and engineering steps — including final platting, geotechnical analysis, stormwater permitting and sewer construction bidding — remain before any new lots could be developed. The sewer extension bid opening has been postponed while the Water Quality Control division issues addenda.

Speakers during the public hearing asked the council to preserve the existing lot pattern and rural character. Council members said those concerns would be addressed during the development review process.