Rules committee views growth plan proposal

Bedford County Board of Commissioners' rules and legislative committee got its first look at proposed revisions to the county's growth plan on Tuesday night, along with a report by Charles Goforth of Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon.

In the late 1990s, a new state law, Public Chapter 1101, required every county in Tennessee to develop a 20-year growth plan. Each incorporated city got the chance to designate an urban growth boundary surrounding its city limits -- areas where high-density growth and development were expected to occur during the next two decades. The rest of the county had to be divided into rural areas, which were expected to remain relatively undeveloped, and planned growth areas, where high-density growth was expected to occur.

All of the governments in a particular county had to agree on the plan before it could be approved. In the case of a complete deadlock, the state could appoint a judicial panel to develop a plan.

Bedford County approved its plan, with little or no controversy, in April 2000. Although each of the incorporated cities had an urban growth area, the county chose not to designate any planned growth areas.

The plan could not be altered for three years after it was originally passed.

In 2006, Shelbyville and Bedford County hired Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon to study whether the plan needed to be updated. Since that time, Goforth and local officials have been conducting public meetings, poring over property maps and studying where development has taken place during this decade.

In order to actually change the plan, one of the local governments -- city, town or county -- would have to make a formal request.

That hasn't happened yet, but the study has some suggested changes, which Goforth outlined for rules committee members.

Shelbyville's urban growth boundary would be expanded to the north, to incorporate growth along U.S. 231, and to the northeast, to take in the route of the planned bypass. Goforth indicated that city officials are interested in this expansion; Shelbyville Mayor Wallace Cartwright and City Manager Ed Craig were among those present for Tuesday night's meeting.

The study also suggests that the county designate planned growth areas surrounding Unionville, Deason and Wheel/Bedford.

Goforth noted that, even with the proposed changes, the county would still have 75 percent of its land classified as rural.

But rules committee chairman P.T. "Biff" Farrar questioned whether the proposed planned growth areas, especially the one running along U.S. 41-A through Unionville, were too large.

The growth plan, by itself, doesn't change zoning or require existing property owners to do anything new with their properties. But some local zoning and planning decisions are made using the growth plan as a reference. And state law says that only land within urban growth boundaries can be annexed by the adjoining city, and only communities which are in planned growth areas can decide to incorporate.

If a formal request is made to change the growth plan, each government in the county would have to decide what to do.

A city government that wanted to leave its urban growth boundaries as is could do so. But if changes are proposed, the city or county government making the changes would have to hold public hearings. A countywide "coordinating committee," including representatives of city and county governments, local utilities, the school system and the soil conservation district would try to coordinate each individual government's proposals and submit a completed plan to each of the governments for approval.

The contract with Barge, Waggoner has now expired, so if the local governments want Barge, Goforth to be involved in further study of the issue, they would have to negotiate a new contract.

County Mayor Eugene Ray suggested that the next step may be to hold a joint city-county meeting, with Goforth present, to discuss the proposed changes.