Community Meeting
Here we go again....
So, Clarion Homes has purchased land on Calista and Horseshoe. How do I know it has been sold? Here is the information from the county.
Clarion Homes purchased this property in November. They spent $1.8 million on what looks like 39 acres according to this document. According to the application, it’s 46 acres that needs to be rezoned.
This went to the Robertson County planning meeting. The board refused to make a recommendation to the county commission. You can read about that meeting here.
New information has come to light that tells me this is a bigger problem than we first realized. Robertson County has been working on their comprehensive plan for 2040. It’s a doozy.
All that gray is the employment center. That orange is the general urban, 6 units per acre. The yellow is suburban, 2 units per acre, and the green stays rural. Open that map up and look at White House/Cross Plains. I sure as hell did not move here for this or voted for this. This is what they want. Who is they? The Robertson County Economic Development Board.
Notice the board chairman? That guy built The Parks. Many of you protested and spoke out against that. I for one didn’t elect any of these people, did you? Yes, there is a team that works on the comprehensive plan and it has elected officials, this board, and community members. What I would love to know is how many of the people working on the plan are in residential development? I’m sure this plan would be great for them.
Sorry, I digress. Why is this rezone an issue? If this is rezoned to R-30, the floodgates are open. Once they have a zone in an area, the next builder can refer to the zone and say, “See! You let them do it, now you have to let me.” Once that R-30 is there, now things are starting to align with the comprehensive plan. Look, the plan says this is medium density, the planning board has to let us have the rezone. This is exactly what happened in White House in 2019 when they approved their comprehensive plan.
Look at all the medium density housing. Not why I moved here. This is done. The building in White House has started. It’s barely gotten going we are in for much more. No, nothing new, just what’s already on the books. The new board in White House has stopped any new annexation from happening, but now they are after the county. We are awake now, and it’s our job to protect what green space we have left. I, for one, do not want to see more cracker jack box houses where cows and tobacco barns used to be. We can balance that with growth. We can ask for 5 acre lots. We can ask for the county to put in a ban on the shared septic systems. If that happens, each home will need its own septic, which means at least .75 acre lots. What we cannot do is give up. Many of us moved out here to live in a rural county. Many of us moved into homes built in the 80’s or even the early 1900’s. (maybe that’s just me) Some of you did move into the new housing developments, but you escaped Mt. Juliet or Murfreesboro and don’t want to see White House or Robertson County turn into that.
What am I asking of you? Come to the community meeting held by the developer. It will be at White House city hall on December 11th at 7pm. Voice your concerns about water, electricity, traffic, and schools. Ask what they are planning to “donate” toward infrastructure. Ask them why this is a good project. Mostly, just show up. You don’t even have to say a word, your presence is enough. Even if you live in Sumner County, show up. We live in White House together this affects you too. Even if you live in Cross Plains, show up. You live in Robertson County too.
We have a say in our local government more than any other area of government. You can vote blue or red, but locally, we are all on the same team. We love our cities, our towns, and our county. We live here for the rural nature of the area. We need to come together and remind our elected officials what it is that WE want. At this meeting, we need to let the developers know that WE do not want to pick up the tab for the improvements that will be necessary for more growth. Join me Wednesday next week.
I would like to continue this endeavor and add more meetings. This will remain free. Please consider an upgrade to paid.
In five years you'll wish you had shown up. I'll be there. Nikki, you keep this up, lady!
When Tennesseans cry, "Don't CALIFORNIA my Tennessee!" and then sit out every planning meeting, they can only blame their local developers, company owners, and realtors. They cannot blame "transplants".
This is the complacency of people who have lived here for years and expect others to do their bidding.
I feel like this is a big Deja Vu, and we got NO WHERE fighting it in White House. We had so many people at some of those meetings we overflowed in to the auditorium, remember? The meetings we weren’t permitted to speak at? Even after COVID. I hope robertson is willing to go up and above that. Why are these boards always filled with business owners? I’m not so sure I’ comfortable that they represent their neighborhoods if this is where they’re going. There are plenty of people that have worked all their lives in leadership positions that have since retired that could be filling these seats to better represent the people in the community. Ugh. SO frustrating. Thanks for the info.