Gallatin unveils public draft of zoning code update; 30-day public review opens

Gallatin City Planner Brian Rose presented the public draft of the city’s new zoning code, called ZOCCO, at a public meeting Wednesday evening and said the document will be posted online for a 30-day public review period that opens tomorrow.

The draft is the product of roughly 3½ years of work by city staff and consultants from Town Planning and Urban Design Collaborative (TPUDC). ‘‘This is our public draft presentation of ZOCCO, which is our zoning code,’’ Brian Rose said. TPUDC principal Brian Wright and zoning attorney Bill Wright walked attendees through the ordinance’s structure and major changes.

The draft replaces much of Gallatin’s current zoning framework with ‘‘character districts’’ organized from rural to urban (Bill Wright said there are 14 districts in the draft). The code groups rules by district and adds standards for building frontage, public frontage (curb-to-lot-line), civic open space types, block perimeter, street types, and parking. The consultants described the code as intented to implement Gallatin’s comprehensive plan (Plan Gallatin) and to guide new development toward more walkable, mixed-use patterns.

Why it matters: the draft would change how new development is designed and reviewed in Gallatin. Consultants repeatedly emphasized that projects already entitled under the old code will generally proceed under existing approvals; new development applications filed after adoption would follow the new rules. Bill Wright noted Tennessee’s strong vested-property-rights law as a constraint on retroactive changes.

Key provisions and examples - Character districts and map: The draft organizes the city into character districts (CD1 natural through CD5 downtown and several special districts including light and heavy industrial and a civic district). The consultants said the new zoning map will largely reflect the old map with character added but that some parcels may be reassigned to the new character districts. - Public draft and review: The city will accept public comments for 30 days starting tomorrow; staff said the comment period closes on July 19. Comments can be submitted by email to zoco@gallatintn.gov or through the public form on zocogallatin.com. - Tree protection and a possible tree bank: Article 18 adds tree-preservation rules and authorizes, but does not fully design, a tree bank mechanism so developers could pay into a fund instead of planting on-site in some cases. Consultants said specimen tree protections and canopy preservation requirements are included. - Scenic-street buffer: The draft proposes a scenic-street buffer for select rural thoroughfares to preserve a ‘‘rural feel’’ along gateways. The consultants suggested a typical depth between 100 and 200 feet, citing a 150-foot example as creating a strong rural character. Staff identified two early candidate corridors: Long Hollow Pike (between Lower Station Camp Creek Road and Greenlee Boulevard) and Big Station Camp Boulevard (between Long Hollow Pike and Highway 386). - Civic space and streets: The code separates ‘‘civic space’’ (greens, plazas, community gardens, pocket parks, natural areas) from generic open-space requirements and includes multiple street types, block-perimeter controls and multimodal facilities (sidewalks, bike lanes, street trees). - Removal of PUDs as a preferred path: The consultants said planned-development districts have been a negotiated process that can produce inconsistent results; the draft reduces reliance on new PUDs and instead relies on the character-district rules. Existing PUDs and master-plan districts on the books will remain in force until changed through the normal rezoning process. - Nonconforming uses and redevelopment: The draft retains transition rules and legal nonconforming-use provisions. Consultants said many existing nonconforming conditions will persist and that some state law exceptions apply (for example, multifamily rebuilding rules cited in the presentation). In general, developments that already have entitlements under the old code will be allowed to proceed under those entitlements.

Public questions and staff responses Attendees asked about timing, enforcement and practical effects on projects already in process. In response: Brian Wright said the code cannot change projects that already have vested approvals; ‘‘we can’t do anything about what’s come before for sure,’’ he said. Bill Wright urged a relatively quick adoption timeline so new standards can apply to projects as soon as possible.

Residents expressed frustration about recent rapid development, construction traffic and tree loss. Consultants repeated that the ordinance is intended to influence future proposals and that some forms of redevelopment (for example, commercial redevelopment) are likeliest to shift to the new standards first. A city staff member clarified that government-owned buildings are not commonly subject to the same zoning permitting sequence as private development and that the so-called ‘‘Project Phoenix’’ mentioned in the meeting is at an exploratory contract stage and not an approved project.

Next steps and how to comment The public review period runs for 30 days beginning tomorrow; staff will compile comments after July 19 and return them to the consultant team for a revised draft. Consultants estimated one to two months to process comments and produce a redraft, but cautioned timing depends on volume and nature of comments. The draft and zoning map will be posted at zocogallatin.com and comments may be sent to zoco@gallatintn.gov.

The presentation is intended as an orientation; consultants said the public draft is long and detailed and recommended readers review the online code and map and submit written comments during the review window.