Commission recommends denial of 452 Properties/Hillwood PUD after residents raise sewer, floodplain and scale concerns

The Rutherford County planning commission on Aug. 11 recommended denial of a large planned-unit development proposed by Hillwood on roughly 929 acres along Bill France Drive (REZ-25021). Commissioners voted 8-2 to deny the application after hearing extensive neighborhood opposition and finding key infrastructure and jurisdictional questions unresolved.

The applicant’s team proposed an employment/activity-center–style PUD that followed much of the county’s Employment and Activity Center (EAC) standards but sought allowances for larger building heights (a maximum of 60 feet in some areas) and flexible building layouts for a mix of light-industrial, commercial and employment uses. The pattern book showed conceptual layouts for multiple large buildings — the applicant’s earlier submittal included a maximum conceptual building footprint in the millions of square feet, later reduced in revision materials.

Hillwood executives and the project civil, traffic and geotechnical engineers presented the concept and economic-impact materials to commissioners. Paul Ranke (Hillwood) described a long-term, phased development intended to create jobs and property-tax revenue, and an economic-impact study submitted with the application projected thousands of direct and indirect jobs at full buildout. Jason Weaver (civil engineer) told the commission standard county stormwater rules would be applied, including detention designed to match current discharges and stormwater-quality measures; geotechnical consultant Jerry (UES) addressed blasting and pledged pre-blast surveys and compliance with state rules.

Neighbors and nearby landowners mounted robust opposition at the hearing. Mary Anne Young, speaking for Anglers Retreat residents, said the proposal lacked a sewer plan and called the building-height request a dangerous precedent; she said her home sits inside the FEMA AE flood zone and that conceptual changes to topography could increase flooding. Other residents described sinkholes, existing flooded roadways and the potential for heavy-truck traffic to use narrow country roads. Many told the commission their properties have been in families for generations and urged careful stewardship.

Planning staff’s review flagged several open items: third-party traffic review was pending; utility commitments (especially sanitary sewer and natural-gas extensions) were incomplete and in some cases conditioned on annexation by the town of Smyrna; large portions of the property lie within Smyrna’s urban-growth boundary and portions touch the Wilson County line, raising potential interjurisdictional issues; and the application’s pattern-book approach left many site-level specifics undefined. Staff recommended deferral until those items were resolved, but one commissioner moved to deny based on the lack of essential documentation and unresolved infrastructure and jurisdictional concerns.

On roll call, the commission recorded: Jeff Phillips (yes), Mike Kush (yes), Lee Vogel (yes), Charlotte P. (yes), Trey Gooch (yes), Jim Thompson (yes), Michael Shirley (yes), Jason Beavers (no), Amber Brown (no), Hettis Reed (yes). The motion to deny carried.

Next steps: the applicant may refine the application and resubmit; staff recommended additional neighborhood engagement, completion of third-party traffic and utility studies, and discussions with the town of Smyrna and other jurisdictions to resolve sewer service and any needed boundary or interlocal agreements before the PUD is reconsidered.