The Arguments
They keep repeating the same things...
Growth is inevitable. I keep hearing this. Personally, I know some people that proves this wrong, but we are talking about towns and counties here.
This is a quote from a realtor in the latest development debacle. Here is an article about the growth in the Nashville area. They call it “fringe-boom-counties.”
*Growth is coming. Growth is inevitable. If you don’t like it, you should move. Let’s unpack this “growth” issue. White House was established in 1828. Richard Stone Wilks purchased the land. White House was a cut through from Kentucky to Nashville. In 1928 that road was renamed US 31. “The White House” that Wilks built was a stop on the way. They tore that house down in 1951, and built the replica that we all know as the museum, in 1986. White House was incorporated in 1971, and saw the biggest population jump between 1990 and 2000. That jump was from 3k people to 7k people. The population jumps over the next 20 years would be from 25-40%. We are now looking at a population jump of close to 70% in five years, not 10. The 2020 census puts us at just shy of 13k people. The city expects that the census they have called for will put us at 18k people. That census will be completed in spring of 2025. If that comes back at 18k, the population of our city will have grown 70% in 5 years. Only 40% of the homes on the books will even be completed by then. Do you see what people are complaining about now? It’s one thing to watch your city double in size over ten or 20 years, but to watch it almost double in 5 is insanity. Yes, growth is inevitable, but this type of growth is disgusting.
*“If you don’t like it, you should move.” If I had a dollar for every time I heard that when I first starting writing, I would have a pile of ones. Not enough to retire, but enough to play some slot machines at the casino. Look, there is such a thing as zero sum growth. There was a house built in White House in the 1980’s. Someone moved out, we moved in. There was a house built in the 1910’s. Someone moved out, we moved in. There are lots of families just like mine that moved into an existing home that someone moved out of. Sometimes the moving family built something else. Sometimes they died. Sometimes they moved to a condo. Whatever the reason, not all of us moved here into a subdivision with 900 houses. We moved here because it is close to the freeway for our business, which Love’s is crushing, and because it’s small. Teaching children to drive in a big city was not for us. We chose this town for its size. I’M NOT MOVING!!! I don’t have to move and I don’t have to like the growth. That’s such a ridiculous thing to say. So, because I like the town the way it was, I’m the bad guy? How about no. This is the way to get people to shut up and sit down. Guess what, we can all have opinions. Yes, all of us. Even the ones you don’t like. Here’s mine…..I don’t like the subdivisions with 700+ homes. They remind me of zombie movies.
Let me repeat this, I’M NOT MOVING. I’m going to fight to keep what is mine. I can hate this and fight this at the same time. In fact, there are lots of people that hate this and didn’t know how to fight this, but now they do. I don’t like it, I’m not moving, and I’m not shutting up.
*If you don’t approve this, you will get something worse. There is an episode of South Park where the people have to vote for a new politician. Their choices are a giant douche and a turd sandwich.
The subdivision with 38 homes or the subdivision with 63 homes. This is the choice they are “giving” us this week. To quote Kelly from Beverly Hills 90210, “I choose me.” Let me get this straight, let us rezone to R-30 and build our lovely $400-$800k homes or you could end up with 63 $350-$500k homes. Gee, that seems like great options. This has been done before, over and over again. If you don’t let us build, we will sue the city, county, etc. If you don’t approve this one, the next one will be worse. How about…
No, just no. Let’s try this, no R-30, no SRPUD, no rezone. We want properties with 3-5 acre lots in the county. We are tired of your threats. Take your pretty plans and your money and go away.
*But it’s in the comprehensive plan…. This one is a doozy and might be my favorite. In 2019 the city of White House put out their new comprehensive plan. I was almost 50 years old when I learned that cities and counties have comprehensive plans. Maybe that’s the stuff they should be teaching in school and your realtor should hand you a copy of the map before you buy a house. The builders use these plans to justify everything they want to develop. Well, we can put 500 homes here, look, it’s in your comprehensive plan. Well, I guess if it’s in there, we have to rezone. Our hands are tied. Here’s your rezone big builder. We want to build condos here. That’s not in the comprehensive plan. Well, there are already 900 houses over here, so another 40 town homes won’t matter. Oh, ok builder, here’s your rezone. The comprehensive plan is set in stone, the zoning bible if you will, except when it’s not. Robertson County has a lovely new comprehensive plan that they want us to fawn over.
All that orange is medium density housing. Six units per acre. Are you in that? Maybe you are in the gray. Check out Cross Plains. It’s mostly gray and orange between our two cities. I don’t want to live in Mt. Juliet 2.0 or Lebanon. That’s what this map turns us into. They approve this map, and they will approve this rezone and the next and the next and the next.
Finally, the meeting tomorrow. This project might be the loveliest project ever. This could be the most benevolent builder with only good intentions. This builder might offer money toward Horseshoe Road and coffee and donuts to all that stop at the job site. IT DOESN’T MATTER. Tomorrow night they will use all of the excuses you read above. The most important thing to remember is this.
The property being discussed has the label. The two yellow check marks are the properties that have come before the planning board and have been denied. If the commission approves the rezone for R-30, the other two will be back. They will be able to use this rezone as a springboard. See, R-30 is already across the street. If you don’t let us have R-30 or R-20, we will sue the county. The planning board will shake in their boots, and we will have three subdivisions in a half a mile. Wait, that sounds familiar… I have four subdivisions in half a mile on a two lane country road. And that friends, is how I got here in the first place.
Please show up tomorrow night at the White House City Hall. The developer is hosting the meeting at 7pm. Remember, we don’t have to change his mind. We only have to humor him. He does not make any decisions. They use these meetings to try to sway you, and lull you into believing you have already voiced your opinion. Your voice really matters on the 16th in Springfield at the county commission meeting. Those are the people that you need to contact and voice your concern. The people tomorrow night are the snake oil salesmen. They are not your friends and you didn’t elect them. You won’t convince them of your wants and needs, and you don’t need to. Join me at both meetings. Remember, your voice matters, especially at the local level. Let them hear you email, phone call, or in person.
Please share this with your friends. All of Robertson County and White House should be concerned.
In your comments regarding growth, I have not seen any consideration for the land owners. If you stop the growth, land prices will fall which place a financial burden on the land owners.
If your goal is to keep the community looking like it did when you moved here, you should advocate raising taxes to purchase the land you want to keep as is and turning them into parks. Other communities have done this.
Great information! We scrutinized the maps when we moved here from Alabama, I went through every test score there was, population, and census information from Portland to Millersville, over to Gallatin, and everything in between, including all risks that I could find, one being Wolf reek Dam I believe it is, maybe it was Center Hill, I can’t remember now. Most people outside of the state don’t really understand the issue with Robertson and Sumner. We ended up in Northwoods coming in, then moved over towards Tyree in to Meadowbrook.
In every single direction you see it, or you don’t actually, all the views that reminded us of family, church, history, it’s all being wiped clean. You’re always going to lose some properties, it does just happen, through the loss of family, or for whatever reason, and some progress on controlled levels is a good thing, and hopefully it’ll be controlled. It’s not really what was happening. Were we not paying as close attention as we should’ve been? Maybe. Would it have made a difference? Maybe?
Anyway the point was, we moved here because it fit. Size wise, school mentality, neighbor mentality the social scene, the views, and more. I went to the opening of Publix the other day and the sad part of that experience was I didn’t run in to a single face I recognized. Not ONE! Not even managers, it’s a small world so usually you see someone you know, I also managed retail and it’s a small group. We were heavily involved with church, hubby is a deacon, so you’d think there’d be one person? Still none. I was in Kroger twice last month and I saw 2 people I recognized, from the high school band program. Band moms. That’s the only time in the last year I can remember seeing anyone. Some might wonder what time I went, or what day of the week, but it was never that way. We always ran in to someone we knew.
In a small way it is one of those things I think it holds us accountable as a community, or as neighbors. Growing up we had all sorts of neighbors to keep me in check. Almost everywhere I went. My parents weren’t bothered by it, they welcomed it, there were five of us! I’m sure they were appreciative. I guess my point is when we were changing all of this up, was anyone wondering what our community would look like? I think the fear that we all have is how many of these would go rental? That might just have become a reality. That’s not always bad, but it’s not always good either. I guess the big question is who owns it? Is it just an investment or will there be accountability. Anyway, I miss the sunsets, thankfully Dorris Farm and The Willows (I I think) haven’t changed that. We welcome them, I suspect they are hard working folks like us who wanted out of where they were. I’m good with that as well. But did we have to do it on every single corner of town? I guess once it’s all in place and everything is said and done, the only place to put more business in - is “up”. Just venting. Thanks again…