Under the zoning in place today, which allows apartments, warehouses and liquor stores on the land around Arrington's crossroads, what would it take to build them? The answer is mostly a rezoning fight that nobody has to win. Those uses are already allowed under the Hamlet District that covers much of the area now. They are among the uses the proposed Arrington Village district would remove.
Those uses barely came up at the October public hearing. On Thursday, Oct. 8, the Williamson County Regional Planning Commission recommended approval of the new district after a 45-minute hearing. Most of the 15 people who signed up to speak asked the county to protect Arrington's rural character, the Williamson Herald reported. The proposal now goes to the Williamson County Commission. If you are weighing Arrington against Triune, Nolensville or College Grove, it helps to see how the new rules differ from the current ones. It also helps to know about a second limit that sits in the ground, separate from the zoning code.
What the current Hamlet zoning already allows
The study area is small. Planning Director Aaron Holmes put the proposed village at 325 acres, the Herald reported, and some of its parcels front Murfreesboro Road. Arrington Vineyards and Delvin Farms sit outside the plan area, according to earlier Herald coverage.
Today the study area is zoned Hamlet District, along with some RD5 parcels. In a preview before the hearing, the Herald listed what changes if the Arrington Village district replaces them.
| Hamlet District today | Arrington Village as recommended Oct. 8 | |
|---|---|---|
| Apartments | Permitted | Not permitted |
| Bars or taverns | Permitted | Not permitted |
| Liquor stores | Permitted | Not permitted |
| Warehouses and light industrial services | Permitted | Not permitted |
| Golf courses | Permitted | Not permitted |
| Family subdivisions, assisted living, athletic facilities | Not permitted | Permitted |
| Maximum height | Three stories | Two stories |
| Maximum building size | Not stated in coverage | 15,000 square feet |
| Design standards for parking placement, sidewalks, greenways and building orientation | None reported | Added |
Planning Commissioner Robin Baldree made the same point from the dais. The new district would prohibit apartment buildings and warehouses, which residents opposed and which Hamlet zoning allows. "I just feel like if we leave it like it is, as a lot of you have requested in your emails and spoke about tonight, we're going to end up with what's currently out there," she said, as the Herald reported.
So for most of the study area, the proposal is a list of things that could no longer be built.
Where the proposal loosens, and why that drew the pushback
The new district does loosen one thing, and that is where the opposition comes from.
For land already zoned Hamlet, density would stay at two units per acre, the Herald reported before the hearing. The new district sets two rates. Traditional subdivisions could reach up to two units per acre. Conservation subdivisions would be capped at 1.2 units per acre.
The RD5 parcels inside the study area are a different case. District 10 County Commissioner Jody Todd raised it at the hearing, according to the Herald's account. "Going from one house on an RD5 to two units per acre, that is a large leap," she said. She also questioned the 25,000-square-foot building limit as first proposed and asked for an overall traffic study.
District 4 Commissioner Jeff Goodspeed said he had received many emails from constituents who wanted to keep Hamlet zoning. Their concerns included three-story buildings, the area's farming history and its small-community character. "They don't want to be a Triune," he said, in the same Herald report.
The two sides were weighing different risks. One side looked at the uses Hamlet already allows. The other looked at the density and building size the new district would allow on land that had been rural.
What the Oct. 8 vote changed
The version residents read before the hearing was larger than the one that passed. As first proposed, buildings could reach 25,000 square feet along Murfreesboro Road and 15,000 square feet on other parcels, and height would stay at three stories.
Baldree's motion set a 15,000-square-foot limit everywhere and cut the height limit to two stories. Commissioner Don Crohan had moved to defer the item for more time, but the motion died without a second. Baldree's amended recommendation then passed, with Eddie Sanders casting the only no vote. "With all the emails and people out here, you know, maybe we've got to listen to the people," Sanders said, according to the Herald.
The hearing itself had already been pushed back once. At the Sept. 10 meeting, county staff recommended a delay after an email system problem kept some residents' comments from reaching planning commissioners.
As it now goes to the County Commission, the proposal is tighter than the current zoning on uses and height, and tighter than its own first draft on building size. Its main loosening is residential density on the RD5 parcels.
The limit that sits in the ground
Here the zoning debate and the actual pace of building come apart.
In February 2025, when county staff presented the final draft of the Arrington Special Area Plan, residents asked how development could happen without sewer capacity. Community Development Director Mike Matteson said the sewer facility planned for nearby Triune would not be able to serve Arrington. Developers who wanted to grow the village would likely have to bring in sewer themselves. "The plan does suggest that it would be appropriate to have small retail and restaurant shops, but it probably would be dependent on there being some sort of sewer solution which there currently is not," he said, according to the Herald.
Twenty months later, the issue was still open. At the Oct. 8 hearing, as the Herald reported, one speaker named the long-term effects of septic systems as their top concern and asked for more testing. Matteson told commissioners that development could not happen unless a parcel showed adequate wastewater management.
That changes how the density numbers read. Two units per acre is a ceiling on paper. Reaching it on any given parcel depends on how that parcel handles wastewater. Without public sewer, the shops and restaurants the plan imagines for the crossroads depend on someone solving that problem first. The county has said from the start that the plan was meant to guide growth if it comes, not to cause it. Matteson repeated that at the Oct. 8 hearing. If development occurs, he said, it would be "based upon a plan that was developed with some standards that were tailored to the area."
For a buyer, this means the crossroads may change more slowly than the debate suggests. The zoning vote sets what is allowed. Wastewater decides how much of it can actually be built.
How the plan got here and what comes next
The zoning grew out of a longer process, so it helps to read it in order:
- The starting point. The county's Comprehensive Plan recommends Special Area Plans for the county's six villages, including Arrington, according to a county open-house handout.
- Early 2024 to February 2025. County planning staff held a kickoff, community workshops and a final-draft open house on Monday, Feb. 3, 2025. Matteson called the plan a guide: "While the plan itself doesn't have teeth, it's not zoning, it sets the stage for some implementation tools like zoning."
- March 2025. County Commission endorsement and Planning Commission adoption of the plan were scheduled for March 10 and March 13. Zoning standards written for Arrington Village alone were to come after that.
- Sept. 10, 2026. The zoning hearing was postponed at the Planning Commission's September meeting because of the email problem. The meeting is listed in the county's Agenda Center.
- Oct. 8, 2026. The Planning Commission recommended approval with the 15,000-square-foot and two-story limits.
- Next. The County Commission considers the district. According to the county's meeting calendar, the board meets on the second Monday of most months, including November, at 6 p.m. Check the Agenda Center for when the Arrington Village item is scheduled.
The county's own open-house handout makes the same point. A Special Area Plan does not set rules by itself. It is the basis for later zoning written for that area. Plan documents and meeting materials are posted on the county's Arrington Special Area Plan page.
A few questions buyers ask about the Arrington Village plan
Is the Arrington Village district in effect now? Not yet. As of this writing, the Planning Commission has recommended it and the proposal goes next to the Williamson County Commission, the Herald reported.
Does it cover the vineyards and farms along the Arrington Road corridor? No. The study area covers about 325 acres. Arrington Vineyards and Delvin Farms are outside it, which one resident criticized during the planning process, the Herald reported.
If I am looking at a property inside or next to the study area, what should I check? Find out the parcel's current zoning, where the County Commission vote stands, and how the property handles wastewater. Treat this post as general information, not legal advice. For a specific parcel, confirm the zoning and septic questions with the Williamson County planning staff, a real estate attorney or a qualified septic professional.
If you are weighing a home or acreage in or near the Arrington Village study area and want to know how the Arrington Village vote could affect it, The Wood Team will follow the County Commission agenda with you and help you sort out what applies to the property you're considering. Schedule your free consultation.
