Council approves M2 zoning for 85-acre BTS parcel after residents urge larger buffers

Bristol Tennessee City Council on Sept. 9 approved Ordinance 25-18, designating an approximately 85-acre parcel owned for BTS as M2 (general industrial district). The measure passed 3-1 after a public hearing in which nearby residents urged the council to limit industrial uses and increase setbacks and buffers.

The parcel, which city staff described as roughly 85 acres, was annexed from Sullivan County and will carry M2 zoning under the ordinance. Sherith Young, planning staff, told the council the parcel had previously been zoned A-1 (general agricultural/estate residential) in the county and that the city’s planning commission had recommended the M2 assignment in its plan of services and prior approvals.

The change matters because the city’s future land use map identified the area for low-density residential uses; adjacent homeowners said that map and the parcel’s proximity to subdivisions merit a less intensive designation. “To place an M2 industrial designation here is to knowingly place us in harm’s way,” said Renee Gaskins, an adjacent property owner, who displayed tax maps and urged larger setbacks, a wider buffer and limits on hazardous uses. Another adjacent resident, Tracy Crawford, said she gathered signatures opposing industrial zoning and argued the city should not rezone to M2 unless a specific industrial user required that classification. “Nobody there wants it,” Crawford said of neighborhood sentiment.

Council members discussed topography and potential buffering. Mayor Turner and other council members said the parcel’s steep terrain and elevation could allow substantial vegetative buffering and larger practical setbacks at the site plan stage, and noted that staff and the planning commission are continuing work on potential edits to the M2 zone. A council member also referenced a conceptual drawing that placed building pads further from nearby homes and used tree screening to reduce visual impact.

Council discussion acknowledged residents’ concerns while noting that a pad-ready industrial designation can make a site more attractive for employers. Council recorded votes were Turner — yes; Fire Robin — no; Powers — yes; Acard — yes. The ordinance therefore passed with three affirmative votes.

Young told the council that if a user for the site is identified, the developer will be required to submit a site plan and meet the city’s site-development standards, including stormwater retention and any applicable setbacks or buffers. She also told council the city and planning commission are examining allowed uses in M2 and that a citywide data-center moratorium would be considered later in the meeting to allow more study.

Next steps include any required technical reviews tied to the plan of services and, if an applicant appears, a site-plan review that will specify building location, stormwater management and landscaping. The city did not identify a specific company or development timeline at the meeting.