Davidson County commissioners adopt new Community Recreation (CR) zoning district

Davidson County commissioners on April 28 voted to amend the county zoning ordinance to create a new Community Recreation (CR) zoning district, a change county staff and the Planning Board said is intended to recognize and guide recreational, cultural and tourism-related facilities across the county.

The Planning Board drafted the amendment and county staff presented the ordinance changes at the meeting. Luke, a county staff member, told commissioners: "What we're proposing is to create a new zoning district called Community Recreation, CR," and described how the change would add a new column to the ordinance table of permitted uses and attach development standards and special-use procedures where appropriate.

The ordinance lists a broad mix of uses the Planning Board recommended for the CR district. Uses called out during the discussion included parks and playing fields, botanical gardens and arboretums, community centers, museums, commercial outdoor recreation, driving ranges and golf courses, event centers, hotels and motels (recommended as conditional zoning), day-care facilities, convenience retail and kiosks accessory to recreational sites, utility infrastructure such as water and sewer lines, and wireless telecommunications co-location standards. The Planning Board recommended that some higher-impact uses be allowed only under conditional zoning (CZ) or special-use review, while others be permitted by right.

County staff said the Planning Board recommended a five-acre minimum lot size for properties seeking CR designation. Luke said the minimum was proposed because "it's principally going to be a recreational use" and planners checked county facilities to verify the size would accommodate existing county sites. Commissioner Fred asked whether the list went "beyond kind of simple recreation," citing government offices and convenience stores; Luke replied such uses were intended to provide flexibility for facilities that might include rental kiosks, canoe rentals, on-site medical services or concessions tied to a larger recreation campus.

The board opened a public hearing; no members of the public spoke for or against the amendment and the hearing was closed. A motion to approve the text amendment carried on a voice vote.

The ordinance change will add sections to multiple parts of the zoning code, including the table of permitted uses (Article 3), dimensional regulations (Article 4), special-use requirements (Article 5), development standards (Article 6), and the definitions (Article 9), as described by county staff.