WHY LOCALS ARE SAYING NO

The proposal would put large warehouses next to Gladeville homes in a small community of mostly 5-10 acre family properties. The concerns raised in 2025 have not gone away.

1. Flooding, sinkholes and environmental stability. At the May 16, 2025 Planning Commission meeting, Planning Director Christopher Lawless confirmed the site contains known sinkholes and a history of flooding. He relayed that County Engineer Steven Johnson called the strategy of capping sinkholes to build over them "not ideal." More pavement and building pads would increase runoff to neighboring properties. The real issue is the 34-acre lot at 1113 Couchville Pike. As Mayor Hutto said in July 2023, "sometimes there's properties you just can't use."

2. Traffic and road safety. Underwood Road is narrow, winding and has no shoulders. Lone Oak Road is smaller still, with tractor-trailers already getting stuck. This plan includes nearly 300 truck spaces, and GPS routing regularly sends trucks down roads where they are prohibited. Per the Planning Director, prohibiting truck traffic down these roads is not enforceable.

3. School bus stops. One truck emergency access point is planned within 200 yards of a school bus pickup area where neighborhood children wait each day.

4. Blasting and structural damage. Site preparation likely requires rock blasting immediately adjacent to homes that rely on wells, springs and septic systems. Many were built before modern codes. Even controlled blasting can damage foundations, water lines and wells. No third-party blasting impact study or pre-blast survey protocol has been presented.

5. Zoning misalignment. This proposal requests the highest level of commercial zoning directly next to residential homes, including requested height exemptions.

Based on the statements made by Planning Director Christopher Lawless at the May 16, 2025 Planning Commission, and the detailed feedback from local residents, this proposal raises significant concerns in the following categories:

• Environmental vulnerability due to sinkholes and flooding

• Inadequate road infrastructure for industrial truck traffic

• Proximity to residential areas and school bus stops

• Structural damage from blasting to nearby homes

• Misalignment with C-4 zoning requirements

Mr. Lawless concluded that, while portions of the land use plan support commercial use along Couchville Pike, ongoing flooding and sinkhole risks mean planning staff cannot recommend approval of the full rezoning request.

Given these issues (many of which were cited directly by the county’s Planning Director and staff, and surfaced at the full county commission meeting) it is evident that this development is not an appropriate fit for this location.

What Could Be Done Instead?

Neighbors are not asking for an empty lot. We are asking for development that follows the county's own Future Land Use Plan.

The plan describes these areas as dynamic, mixed-use corridors along major transportation routes, with the highest intensity of development near intersections and interchanges. They are meant to serve as economic hubs while maintaining compatibility with surrounding neighborhoods. The plan also calls for increased screening where commercial areas abut residential properties, to help preserve the rural character of Wilson County.

Examples for these corridors include:

• General commercial and retail services

• Sit-down and fast-food restaurants

• Multi-tenant commercial

• Hotels

• Professional offices

The plan also sets a development pattern that keeps uses separate, caps lot coverage at 30%, and limits building size (maximum FAR of 1.2). That is a long way from a the footprint of this proposed project.

Professional offices, retail services, restaurants and similar neighborhood-serving businesses are the kind of development we would welcome at 1113 Couchville Pike. They would:

• Serve both the traveling public and the surrounding community

• Create local jobs and tax revenue without constant heavy truck traffic

• Cause far less light, noise and traffic impact next to homes

• Allow the sinkholes and drainage problems to be addressed with a smaller, more careful footprint

• Include the screening and buffering the plan calls for where businesses meet residential neighbors

This is not about stopping growth. It is about asking the Planning Commission and the developer to follow the vision already adopted for this area.

Background: How We Got Here

In 2025, the Planning Commission forwarded the original request to the County Commission without a recommendation, matching the planning staff's position that they could not recommend approval. The County Commission then denied it. Questions also remain about the earlier land deals. Documents provided to selling homeowners outlined coordinated sales, a rezoning timeline and lease-back terms, all arranged before any public zoning discussion. The community deserves transparency about the full scope of this development.

Keep in Mind

The developer, based in Nashville, argues its detention ponds will help with flooding. But Gladeville residents never asked a private developer to fix the water problem. We asked them to stop building over sinkholes. Planning staff have said the preferred approach is to avoid disturbing sinkholes or preserve drainage with injection wells, which would mean a smaller footprint and a significantly different plan.

We should not have to go through this process over and over. Our community deserves a development plan that works with the neighborhood.

So, What’s Next?

After the Planning Commission makes its recommendation, the proposal will likely move to the full Wilson County Commission for a vote.

Unlike the Planning Commission, County Commissioners are elected officials who are responsible for representing the interests of their districts. It is important that our concerns and opposition are clearly communicated to them both leading up to and at that meeting.

The date of the County Commission vote has not yet been announced. We will update this page as soon as it is made public.

In the meantime, please share this information with neighbors, homeowners and others in the area who could potentially be impacted. The more informed our community is, the more clearly our concerns can be heard.