Planning commission begins review of consolidated zoning ordinance; committee recommends more work and additional hearings

The Trousdale County Planning Commission held an extended discussion of a draft consolidated zoning ordinance prepared by consultant Rick Gregory and county codes staff. The draft merges former city and county zoning documents, creates a unified definitions section, consolidates general and supplementary provisions, and adds a planned unit development (PUD) option for residential and mixed-use projects.

Rick Gregory, the planning consultant, said the effort blended two prior approaches and in cases of conflict the draft uses the more restrictive standard. "In those cases, the committee chose to use the more restrictive," Gregory said, citing setbacks for gas pump canopies as an example where the draft applies the larger setback. He said the draft moves the flood-plain regulations to an appendix and consolidates use matrices and dimensional tables into appendices to make future updates easier.

Rosalie and commissioners discussed next steps. Rosalie noted the draft will require map updates to show Urban Services District (former city limits) and General Services District zoning codes, and she warned that some items — such as recently changed state agricultural law related to meat packing — need to be checked and removed or adjusted before final adoption.

Commissioners agreed to give members who were absent additional time to review the draft. The planning commission voted to continue consideration and bring the item back next month, and staff said the draft will proceed to at least two work sessions with the full commission before a final county-court vote. Gregory and staff will attend future sessions to answer questions.

Why it matters: A consolidated zoning ordinance would change how zoning rules are applied across Trousdale County and Hartsville by harmonizing differences between the prior city and county documents, adding a PUD option that binds a site plan to rezoning approval, and making updates (for example flood rules) easier via appendices.

The commission did not adopt the ordinance; it directed staff and the consultant to continue work and return with corrected language and map updates.