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Cheatham County staff proposes multiple amendments to county zoning resolution
Summary
County staff read five proposed amendments to the Cheatham County zoning resolution covering public notice to commissioners, a six‑month pause for unpermitted conditional uses, map requirements for rezoning, updated enforcement penalties, and civil remedies aligned with state law. No final vote was recorded during the session.
Building department staff presented five proposed amendments to the Cheatham County zoning resolution during the commission meeting.
The amendments, read by the building department representative, would: (1) require staff to provide each county commissioner a copy of public notices for Regional Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals matters “not less than 3 days following the submission of such notice for publication,” while expressly stating that failure to provide that notice would not invalidate proceedings; (2) require that an unpermitted conditional use be abandoned for at least six months before an after‑the‑fact application can be filed; (3) allow the building commissioner to waive survey/map requirements for rezonings that cover an entire single parcel where the county tax map is adequate; (4) replace the existing violations and penalties text with a revised enforcement section clarifying criminal and civil penalties and daily fines; and (5) add civil remedies (injunction, abatement, mandamus and similar actions) and identify parties who may bring those remedies in line with Tennessee Code Annotated.
The building department speaker said the six‑month provision was intended to prevent parties who began work without prior approval from seeking immediate after‑the‑fact relief. “If someone should have come in in advance to get approval of a conditional use, but they've already started, and then they're coming to the Board of Zoning Appeals after the fact, they would have to abandon that use for at least 6 months before they could even make application,” the building department representative said.
County Attorney Michael (identified in the meeting) was invited to comment on legal aspects; the attorney characterized much of the enforcement language as conforming the county’s resolution to state law and confirming the county’s authority to enforce the resolution under Tennessee Code Annotated 13‑7‑1‑11, including the statutory maximum penalty referenced by staff.
No final action or recorded vote on the proposed amendments took place during the meeting. Commissioners discussed whether any single commissioner could be excluded from consideration of items, and legal counsel noted that adoption cannot exclude a particular commissioner. The building department indicated it will circulate the draft language in the packet and the commission will consider the amendments at a later date.
The proposed changes were presented as a package of clarifications and enforcement updates rather than immediate ordinance adoptions; staff asked for any questions and noted that the county attorney could elaborate further in a subsequent meeting.
