Residents urge commissioners to remove proposed '5‑acre' language from Hickman County land‑use plan
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Summary
At a rescheduled January meeting, public commenters urged the Hickman County Commission to reject proposed '5 acre' language in the land‑use plan, saying Tennessee law could lock the change in for three years and harm affordability and tax revenues. Commissioners agreed to send the amendment package back to Health & Safety for further review after public concern.
Kathy Winters Redden, a public commenter, told the Hickman County Commission that a motion by Commissioner Steve Giannakis to alter growth‑plan verbiage would effectively replace the county's one‑acre standard with a five‑acre requirement if left in the document. “Tennessee law says once you approve the growth plan and its verbiage therein, the rules cannot be changed even by resolution for 3 years,” Winters Redden said, urging commissioners to “vote to remove the 5 acre verbiage.”
Mark Klaus, another public commenter, said earlier drafts had proposed ranges “3 to 15” acres and argued that anything above three acres would be “detrimental to the landowner” in Hickman County; he urged commissioners to preserve smaller minimums and to avoid leaving numbers out of the plan entirely, which he said could allow future zoning changes without clear limits.
Commission discussion later took up a packaged amendment to the land‑use plan. Sponsors said copies were posted online and that earlier public comment had been largely favorable, but members also acknowledged concerns raised Monday. The commission voted to take the amendment package up from the table and then approved a motion to refer the land‑use plan amendments to the Health & Safety committee for additional discussion and adjustments; both votes were recorded by roll call as passed with the commission’s typical tally (13 yes, 1 absent).
The referral means the Health & Safety committee will review public concerns and proposed wording changes before the commission acts again. No final change to the growth‑plan acreage requirement was adopted tonight; sponsors said any future statutory or plan language would be revisited after committee review.
