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Council backs updated design guidelines after staff, stakeholders and planning commission review
Summary
After a multi-month stakeholder process, Murfreesboro staff and the planning commission presented comprehensive updates to the city's design guidelines; council voted to adopt a resolution of support and asked staff to return with options on how council and the planning commission share design-review authority.
Murfreesboro — City staff presented a comprehensive update to Murfreesboro's design guidelines at the July 9 workshop and the council voted to adopt a resolution acknowledging the amended document.
Newman, a staff presenter, told council the guidelines — last adopted in 2017 by the planning commission — had been revised after nine stakeholder meetings beginning in March 2025 and a public hearing before planning commission adoption. Staff described changes to formal open-space rules, new guidance for multifamily and townhome architecture, clarified expectations for gas-pump canopies and a refined color and materials palette to guide façade composition.
Council members asked how the city should balance policy direction from an elected council with the planning commission's delegated design-review authority. Newman and other staff said the planning commission is currently the designated design-review authority but that council could revisit that delegation; staff also offered an alternative workflow in which council provides early input before planning commission action. Council requested staff return with options and recommended processes.
The council adopted Resolution 26R30 expressing support for the amended design guidelines; the meeting record shows a recorded roll-call vote with all members voting in favor. Staff said the next steps will include drafting any ordinance language tied to implementation and continuing quarterly stakeholder meetings to address new materials or industry changes as they arise.
