Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Lebanon council approves first readings for Barton Village land‑use and zoning changes to accommodate medical facility
Summary
The Lebanon City Council approved first readings on four related land‑use and zoning measures affecting about 1.4 acres at 685 Bartons Creek Road and a larger Barton Village specific‑plan amendment, paving the way for an Encompass Health inpatient rehabilitation facility; Planning Commission previously recommended approval 8–0.
Lebanon — The City Council on Monday approved first readings for a set of land‑use and zoning changes that would incorporate a roughly 1.4‑acre parcel at 685 Bartons Creek Road into the Barton Village specific plan and reclassify the site to allow a downtown‑mixed‑use designation and related overlay, council records show.
Planning staff told the council the Planning Commission recommended each request by an 8–0 vote at its Aug. 26 meeting. The motions passed at first reading with vocal “aye” approvals from councilors and no stated opposition.
The measures include: a future land‑use plan amendment (order 257282) changing the property from FLH‑4 (residential, 4 units/acre) to DXU (downtown mixed use); a South Hartman Gateway overlay amendment (order 257283); a rezoning of the parcel to the Barton Village specific plan (order 257284); and a separate first reading to amend the Barton Village specific plan for about 127.99 acres on South Hartman Drive (order 257285). All four items were introduced together and each received a motion and second before council approval at first reading.
Representatives for the applicant described the 1.4‑acre parcel as a small inholding surrounded by Barton Village. Casey Warner said the parcel will be incorporated into the Barton Village SP and that an end user, Encompass Health, is proposed for the site. Scott Peterson, who identified himself as CEO of Compass Health and Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehab Hospital in Nashville, said his organization operates inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and will support opening the new facility, calling it “a new level of service to this community.”
Peterson and Warner said the project includes one requested technical deviation: ceiling clearance of 9 feet in some areas rather than the ordinance’s standard 12–13 feet. Peterson explained the lower ceiling height request is to permit ceiling‑mounted patient lifts used in rehabilitation work, saying the building’s overall height remains substantially above the 9‑foot ceiling areas cited. Council discussion did not record any formal amendment to the ceiling‑height requirement; the variance was described by the applicant during the public hearing.
Planning staff noted their review and the commission’s unanimous recommendation; no members of the public spoke in opposition during the public‑hearing portion for those items. The items will return for subsequent readings as required by the city’s ordinance process.
Background: the council’s first‑reading approvals do not, by themselves, finalize land‑use or zoning changes. Final adoption requires subsequent readings and any required public notice and findings at later meetings.
Votes at a glance for these items: the motions for the future land‑use amendment (order 257282), overlay amendment (order 257283), rezoning to Barton Village SP (order 257284) and the larger Barton Village SP amendment (order 257285) were moved and seconded on the council floor and carried on voice vote; no recorded roll‑call tallies were read into the record at first reading.
Implementation: Planning staff and the applicant indicated work on plans and coordination with staff over the prior six months; Planning Commission review occurred Aug. 26 and recommended approval on all items by an 8–0 vote.
Further hearings and second readings are expected as the city proceeds through its formal adoption steps for land‑use and zoning changes.
