Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Cheatham County adds notice requirement for planning and zoning hearings; related zoning changes deferred
Summary
On April 21 commissioners approved adding a requirement that members receive copies of public notices for Regional Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals hearings, while deferring several technical and enforcement changes to a future workshop.
Cheatham County commissioners voted April 21 to amend the county Zoning Resolution to require that members of the Legislative Body be provided a copy of public notices for matters scheduled before the Cheatham County Regional Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals.
The change, adopted on a 12–0 roll-call vote after a public hearing, adds a subsection to Section 9.020 that requires staff to provide a copy of published public notices to each commissioner “not less than three (3) days following the submission of such notice for publication.” The amendment also clarifies that the failure to provide the notice will not, by itself, invalidate the planning or zoning proceedings.
Why it matters: commissioners said the change aims to ensure elected officials receive timely notification of pending planning and zoning matters so they can follow up or seek more information before formal hearings. The text preserves the legal standing of proceedings by specifying that missed notice alone will not nullify a hearing.
The public hearing drew no speakers for or against the amendment. Separately, on the recommendation of the Building Department, commissioners voted to defer four related zoning changes — including adjustments to conditional-use timing, a map-waiver authority for the Building Commissioner and a rewrite of the penalties section (Section 9.100) — until the item can be discussed in a workshop. That deferral passed 11–1 (Commissioner Eugene O. Evans Sr. cast the lone no vote).
What’s next: Items deferred to the workshop will return to the commission for additional review and possible revision before any final vote. The adopted notice requirement becomes part of the county zoning code as written in the resolution approved April 21.
Attribution: The amendment was moved by Commissioner Diana Lovell and seconded by Commissioner Bill Powers. The deferral motion was made by Lovell and seconded by Commissioner Mike Breedlove. No public commenters spoke for or against the proposed changes during the hearing.
