I’m going to be honest—this one’s hard for me.
At my core, I believe in property rights. If you own land, you should generally have the freedom to use it as you see fit. I don’t like government overreach. I don’t like busybodies telling people what they can and can’t do with what they’ve worked for. And I don’t like the idea of neighbors voting down something just because they “don’t like it.”
But I also believe in community standards, shared infrastructure, and the rule of law. And after watching the Planning Commission vote to pass a vague and incomplete plan pertaining to a mixed-use rezoning request—I’ve come to a firm conclusion:
This rezoning is wrong. Not because of emotion. Not because of fear. But because it fails every test of good governance, fairness, and common sense.
The Right to Develop Doesn’t Mean the Right to Overrun a Town
Let’s start with the basics. Developer Michael Crawley wants to rezone his 40-acre parcel from Agricultural (AG) to Mixed Use. That’s his right to ask. No one is saying he can’t ask. But asking doesn’t mean it should be granted, especially when he showed up with no real clear plan.
He couldn’t even say what he wants to build with clarity.
Maybe a grocery store anchored commercial space. Maybe some unspecified townhomes. Maybe some single family houses. Maybe a little Pleasant View Village…a whole lot of maybe and not a lot of concrete plans. The only thing he seemed sure about was roughly 130 housing units and a road that connects to Chris Court—pumping commercial traffic into the quiet Oak Pointe subdivision.
This isn’t about being anti-development. This is about following the rules. Coopertown has an ordinance that lays out very clearly what a developer must provide in order to rezone to Mixed Use. Studies. Assessments. Analysis. Actual plans.
Crawley brought none of those. And the Planning Commission approved it anyway.
Property Rights Come With Responsibility
If I want to build a barn on my land, want to plant crops, run a roadside stand, or build a single-family home I shouldn’t need permission—go for it. That’s the heart of property rights.
But if I want to build 130 homes, plus retail, and start using public infrastructure, public roads, public safety services, and impact my neighbors’ ability to live peacefully—that’s no longer just my property. That’s our town.
Rights don’t exist in a vacuum. And property rights, like all rights, come with responsibilities. Especially when they require government approval and zoning changes.
And let’s not forget—this isn’t the first time this has come up. This rezoning was proposed 2 or 3 years ago and denied. In fact, it is why a mixed-use zoning ordinance even exists…prior to that proposal, there wasn’t one. This proposal is what led the previous administration to rightfully deny the request, and then they created an ordinance for these scenarios in the future.
Planning Commission Abandoned the Process—and the People
The zoning ordinance isn’t a suggestion. It’s the law. It exists to protect residents and ensure development is thoughtful, fair, and well-planned. Yet the Planning Commission dismissed those requirements as “too burdensome” on the developer. They claimed it was expensive and might discourage future applications.
Good.
That’s the point. If you’re not serious, don’t waste the town’s time. If you’re not willing to invest in front-end planning, you shouldn’t be reshaping the future of Coopertown.
Even when it was mentioned they could delay the vote 45 days to get answers to the missing requirements, the Commission still pressed forward. They voted to send it to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen—claiming it can be “worked out later.”
Worked out later? When? After the zoning has been changed? That’s not how responsible local government works.
Unelected Planning Body Handcuffing the Elected Board
Much of this is being driven by something called Illustration 13—a long-term growth map that labels this parcel as Mixed Use. But here’s the problem in my view: Illustration 13 was never formally adopted by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen.
It came from the Planning Commission, an unelected advisory body, and was pushed forward despite consistent and overwhelming public opposition over the past several years. Frankly, the whole reason we are re-visiting this current property to be re-zoned is because the planning commission saw fit to mark the property mixed use on illustration 13, along with several other areas along Highway 49. Its almost like their vision is to make Highway 49 the next Wilma Rudolph Blvd. Which is wholly inconsistent with what the citizens have expressed a desire for…responsible development, and no real commercial development in the interior of the town until the Exit 24 are and Highway 431 (Tom Austin Highway) have been developed first.
And here we are out of the gate working on a development in the interior of the town.
No one I’ve spoken to—outside the developer—wants that property to be mixed use. Yet we’re told we must accept this zoning because of a “vision” that was hotly debated but, I’d argue, never properly ratified. That’s not democracy. That’s bureaucracy.
The Sales Tax Mirage
A common argument for developments like this is the promise of increased tax revenue. But let’s be honest—there’s no clear picture of what that even looks like.
With no defined commercial anchor, no clear breakdown of square footage, and no long-term business model, we don’t know what we’re getting into—let alone what it would produce in sales or property taxes. And without those answers, any talk of financial benefit is speculative at best.
I’ve personally asked the Mayor and my Aldermen to reach out to Pleasant View’s city officials to gather real-world revenue figures from Pleasant View Village. As of this writing, that hasn’t been done—or at least, it hasn’t been presented publicly. So we’re being asked to approve a massive change to our town with no real financial modeling, no projections, and no peer comparison.
And even if there were a modest tax bump—what is the true cost? Is a little extra revenue worth the disruption to existing neighborhoods, the stress on Highway 49, or the permanent loss of rural character? Do a few extra dollars in sales tax justify paving over what makes Coopertown special?
This is not how responsible towns make decisions.
The Lawsuit Boogeyman
Another possible “issue” thats been discussed is litigation. That if Coopertown pushes back on developers, we’ll get sued.
Let me say this loud and clear: That is hogwash.
First of all, any developer trying to sue a town because they weren’t granted a zoning change—especially one that didn’t meet ordinance requirements—has no leg to stand on. The ordinance exists to set expectations. If the developer doesn’t meet them, the town is on solid legal ground to say “no.”
Second, what kind of town do we want to be? One that folds under pressure from anyone with a lawyer and a PowerPoint presentation? Coopertown isn’t breaking any procedure here. The developer is because it is too expensive. The Planning Commission is because its too hard for the developer. If anyone should be held accountable, it’s them, not the people trying to defend their homes and community.
The Landfill Angle
At the meeting, Mayor Smith raised a potential emerging fight at the state level over landfill laws. Under changes being discussed by some legislators to TCA § 68-211-701, cities, towns like Coopertown, and even counties, may lose their right to reject new or expanded landfills. That’s a real concern.
There’s been speculation that approving this rezoning could be used as a “poison pill”—a way to put more residents next to an already approved landfill site so it becomes unattractive for landfill use in the future.
Let me say this plainly: that is not a good enough reason to change the entire fabric of our town. Coopertown shouldn’t sacrifice its character because the state might do something dumb. That’s just replacing one bad decision with another. And it is no guarantee that the State won’t just go ahead and use the surveyed/inspected/approved landfill site anyway.
The Slippery Slope Starts Here
No one wants trouble from the unknown that may come. There is fear if the unknown. I also understand the temptation. We all want nice things. Shorter grocery trips. Closer amenities. And I respect that. But here’s the deal: we chose Coopertown because it wasn’t all of that. If you want a Publix and Starbucks right down the street, you can live in Pleasant View, or Springfield, or Clarksville, or Nashville, or wherever they have those things. Those places are great—for people who want that.
But we chose here. For the space. The peace. The trees. The fields. For roads you can back out of without getting T-boned. We left those other places there to come here. Lets not make the same mistakes here, and turn here into there.
Rezoning like this—outside of Tom Austin or the I-24 corridor—will be the beginning of the end. Ten years from now, Coopertown won’t be Coopertown. It’ll be just like everywhere else that used to be something special. Over-run and ruined.
I haven’t even touched on the real-world infrastructure issues like where is this development going to get water? Where will the sewage go? What about rainwater runoff. All of which should have been at least initially addressed in the proposal.
The Vote Is Coming—So Speak Now
This isn’t just about a single property. It’s about a pattern. It’s about trust. It’s about what kind of town we want Coopertown to be, and what kind of leadership we expect from our elected officials.
To BOMA: You weren’t elected to rubber-stamp growth. Vote NO on this rezoning. Demand a proper plan. Enforce the ordinance. And if the Planning Commission refuses to respect the process, maybe it’s time to revisit who’s on it. I also get it–there is going to be some development–but lets at least START where it makes sense: Exit 24 and Highway 431, before we needlessly destroy the rural parts of our town. That is responsible and smart growth. This proposal is neither of those things.
To my neighbors: I get it. You may be busy. You may be jaded. But if you care even a little bit about keeping Coopertown the place you moved to…if you don’t want your neighborhood flooded with cut-through traffic… if you don’t want to see strip malls where fields used to be… if you want to keep the peace and quiet that brought you here in the first place—Show up. Speak up. Send the email. Attend the meeting.
This is still our town. But if we stay silent now, it won’t be for long. Because if we lose this one, we won’t get another chance.
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