Residents urge commission to protect rural character as draft land use plan advances

Resident speakers used the county's public comment period to urge commissioners to preserve existing rural protections in the draft land use plan and to ensure the planning commission and county act consistently.

Houston Neil, who said he had been appointed to the planning commission in January, thanked the board for the appointment and said he was still "learning a lot" but worried the draft land use plan's maps "don't really match up with how the map is." He encouraged commissioners to listen at the planning commission meeting.

James Smallwood said residents are concerned about concentrated development and noted the commission twice had approved a minimum-lot ordinance requiring 80,000-square-foot lots (approximately two acres) in A1 zoning. He said a recent draft plan would cut that standard in some areas to 40,000 square feet or convert parcels to a "rural living" classification with a one-acre minimum. "That is concerning," Smallwood said, and he urged commissioners to preserve the policy choices the county previously made.

Other residents—Christy Chastain, Kevin Mack and others—urged support for a resolution to protect farms outside Lebanon's urban growth plan and warned against eminent-domain risks. Commissioners discussed the path forward: the planning commission will consider the land use plan at its meeting the following Wednesday and will forward a recommendation to the county commission for final action unless the commission explicitly delegates final approval to the planning body.

Several commissioners warned that attempting to amend the plan from the commission dais could trigger a need to re-advertise and risk legal challenge. Commissioner Brown noted past litigation over amendments and said amendments made on the commission floor may require re-advertisement to avoid procedural defects.

The planning commission's vote will generate a formal recommendation; the county commission may accept, reject or return the plan with suggested changes but must follow statutory notice requirements if modifications are made.