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This is a plan that sets the recommendations and regulations for future growth in Wilson County for the next 20 to 30 years. The plan is approved by the Wilson County Planning Commission, whose members are non-elected, then it may or may not be voted upon by the County Commission. Legally, it does not have to be, but our local government is still deciding what the pathway to adoption will be.

This plan is not the same as rezoning. In fact, when this plan passes, not one parcel of land will change its zoning status. In other words, farmland that is zoned A-1 (for agricultural use) will remain A-1 after the land use plan is passed. The issue, though, is that the Master Land Use Plan will affect future zoning and usage. So, if someone buys A-1 land after the plan鈥檚 passage, and it鈥檚 in an area deemed 鈥渞esidential鈥� or 鈥渃ommercial,鈥� it can easily be rezoned by the Planning Commission.

How Does the Land Use Plan Affect Me?

If you live or work in Wilson County, this plan will affect your life, and your children鈥檚 and grandchildren鈥檚 lives.

My hope is that our elected officials, beginning with County Mayor Randall Hutto and extending to all county commissioners, realize the current burdens already placed on local citizens. From overpopulated schools that struggle to retain teachers even as we break ground on more school buildings to an overburdened water and septic system, we are already at a point of oversaturation. Residents in the Western part of the county see this daily, as they are dealing with sewer run-off in their backyards and fields. Only six years ago, our county school system laid off dozens of teachers because of insufficient funds, and the student population has surged since then.

Our current County Commission deserves a lot of credit for roughly doubling A-1 lot sizes from 1 acre to 2 acres in a vote about six months ago. The proposed Master Land Use Plan calls for some of those gains to be undone: The latest draft has up to 70,000 acres of A-1 agricultural land listed in such a way that it can be converted to R-1 residential in the future. This proposal comes on the heels of 17,000 acres of Wilson County farmland already being developed between 2015-2024, according to UT Ag.

What Can I Do?

Find out how your commissioner has voted in the past, including in the recent vote to increase lot sizes to 2 acres. Be involved in the Master Land Use Plan by writing to your county commissioner expressing your desire for less residential and commercial spaces in the rural parts of our county.

The Plan is scheduled to be voted on by the Wilson County Planning Commission in mid-June.

鈥淲hen the last tree is cut, the last fish is caught, and the last river is polluted; when to breathe the air is sickening, you will realize, too late, that wealth is not in bank accounts and that you can鈥檛 eat money鈥�. -Alanis Obomsawin, filmmaker (b. 31 Aug 1932).