City staff proposes zoning text amendment to streamline school approvals and set design standards

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — City planning staff presented a proposed zoning text amendment on March 6 that would change how the city approves public and private K–12 school uses, aiming to shorten approval timelines and create clearer design standards.

The staff presentation described three principal changes: allow school uses and expansions by right in all zoning districts except park; establish clear minimum design standards including a required Type C buffer where a school would be adjacent to single‑family residential zoning or uses; and require review as a planned institutional development (PND) or planned unit development (PUD) in three specific cases — when a school is proposed on a parcel that has not previously hosted a school, for building expansions or accessory structures of 50,000 square feet or…