Robertson County-Balancing A Rural Economy with Growth

Robertson County is one of Tennessee’s top agricultural producers, and is probably best known for its fire-smoked tobacco production in rural communities such as Adams—home of the world famous Bell Witch—Cross Plains, Cedar Hill, and Orlinda. Springfield, the county seat, boasts a residential historic district, one of the state’s oldest and finest courthouse, and revitalized downtown square. Ridgetop and Greenbrier, located along the Cumberland Region’s Highland Rim, are also incorporated communities located 800 feet above sea level. Coopertown, once a famous distillery town, is located halfway between Nashville and Clarksville.

In 2007, CRT conducted AIA 150 Blueprint Community Visioning Workshops with 100+ Robertson County citizens and uncovered an expressed desire to preserve agricultural lands and revitalize historic town centers, such as the county seat of Springfield. CRT continues to work with Robertson County and municipals leaders today in developing comprehensive county-wide plans as the first CRT Quality Growth Toolbox Pilot Community.

The land which is now within the boundaries of Robertson and Montgomery counties was first known as the Tennessee County of North Carolina. In 1796, the state’s first general assembly met in Knoxville to organize a new state government, and the name Tennessee was officially adopted for the developing state. An act passed by that assembly provided for the division of Tennessee County into two counties. The eastern half was named Robertson in honor of James Robertson, Father of Middle Tennessee and early leader of the Watauga and Cumberland settlements. The act also provided for the commissioners to purchase fifty acres of land for Robertson County’s seat of government and specified that the town be named Springfield.

The act further provided for the commissioners to raise money to build a courthouse and jail. The site selected for the county seat was geographically centered in the middle of the county, and, in accordance with the legislative act, the town was named Springfield. The town was laid out in 1798, and the first log courthouse was completed on July 15, 1799. The fertile land in Robertson County was an excellent choice for the agriculturalists who settled here. They brought with them the skills of distilling whiskey and cultivating tobacco, two enterprises which have prospered.

Robertson County was once known world-wide for its fine whiskey, and, at one time, there were over seventy-five whiskey distilleries in operation in the county. Tobacco has been a commercial product since around 1820, and Springfield has been acknowledged as the dark-fired tobacco capital of the world. The agricultural-based economy has flourished over the years and has in this century expanded to include industrial development.

Although the economic base has fluctuated and changed as civilization spread across Robertson County, the rolling hills and fertile land are as enchanting today as they were 200 years ago when they attracted the first settlers. Robertson Countians, both established and new, have taken great pride in their land and their legacy to pass it on intact and enhanced.

Cost of Community Services Report- Robertson County

A cost of community services study performed by the American Farmland Trust is one national model that can be used by communities to understand the cost of community services on a county level scale. This methodology analyzes revenues and expenditures on a land use basis… residential, commercial/industrial, and farmland… for a specific fiscal year. Revenues by these land use categories and fiscal demands of public services (e.g. public safety, government administration, schools, courts, etc.) are examined to show the cost of providing these services to residential, commercial/industrial and farmland uses. Results of these studies provide local government decision makers a snapshot in time description of the net cost to local county governments by land use types for a particular fiscal year.

AIA 150 Robertson County Case Study

On Preserving Rural Open Space and Revitalizing Historic Town Centers
On Friday and Saturday, April 27 and 28, 2007, citizens of Robertson County convened in the United Methodist Church in Springfield for a Visioning Workshop on Preserving Rural Land and Revitalizing Town Centers. This was the first of three workshops being convened this year in Middle Tennessee as part of the American Institute of Architects 150 Blueprint for America Initiative. In Middle Tennessee, this A.I.A. program focuses on the challenges communities face undergoing rapid growth. Prior discussion with Robertson County leadership indicated that there existed significant concern over the quality of its growth patterns, and the need to retain its traditional character while undergoing sustainable growth.

Robertson County: 2008 Agricultural Economic Profile

Employment in Agriculture and Forestry made up 9.5% of total jobs created in Robertson County in 2008 with 2,694 total jobs in these sectors. Primary agriculture crops were the largest job creator with 1,773 jobs or 66% of total agriculture jobs created. Overall, the forestry industry created 571 jobs or 2.1% of total agriculture and forestry jobs created in 2008.

 

Progress On CRT Principles for Quality Growth:

Comprehensive community plans

As one of Tennessee’s premier agricultural producers, Robertson County has stepped up to protect its vibrant rural economy through smart growth. With the aid of CRT, Robertson County citizens completed AIA-sponsored community visioning workshops in April of 2007, especially focusing on preserving agricultural space and revitalizing historic town centers. The final report has been published and implementation is expected to begin at the end of 2010.

On top of its own community plan, Robertson is collaborating with its neighbors Sumner and Wilson Counties to draft a Tri-County Land Use Plan with the aid of the Nashville MPO. Work began in April 2008 and the results were incorporated into the MPO’s 2035 Long Range Transportation Plan, revealed at CRT’s Power of Ten Summit in May, 2010. As Robertson County works to create a comprehensive plan it will build from the findings of the 2035 Plan. This effort will produce our region’s first collaborative MPO and county-wide comprehensive planning efforts.

Design for protection and enhancement of community character

As one of the leading agricultural counties in Tennessee, Robertson takes pride in its agricultural heritage and rural open space, and its comprehensive plan reflects that commitment. County Mayor Howard Bradley has embraced smart growth. “We’re evaluating our county and how we live now with an eye on maintaining our rural heritage and developing more new urbanism,” he noted in BusinessTN interview after the workshop results were unveiled. The community comprehensive plan includes guidelines for incentivizing development removed from agricultural areas.

The historic Public Square in Springfield—featuring a 125 year-old courthouse— frequently garners admiration from surrounding communities, and the city government has recently spent $4 million to renovate the courthouse. Further renovation and streetscaping projects are in progress, and many other municipalities are following Springfield’s lead by focusing funding on historic preservation.

Redevelopment of cities, towns, rural communities

Of Robertson’s ten municipalities, five boast historic downtown districts, and the other five seek to build such iconic town centers by revitalizing older buildings in the urban core. Additionally, Robertson has a higher rate of vacant industrial developments than the Middle Tennessee average, so many of those spaces can be converted to other uses. The community is also moving to renovate several tobacco warehouses around the county, converting them for business or residential use or preserving those of historic value. Workshop participants also desired a Farmer’s Market along I-65 to support local agriculture and encourage further development along the interstate rather than in rural areas.

Springfield broke ground in February for new community college facility, hoping to offer educational opportunity to the 89% of the population without a college degree, as well as attract jobs requiring higher education that can raise the county standard of living. As the college community grows, so too will opportunities to redevelop the surrounding area.

Housing

Robertson County offers a housing stock rich in high end properties, but citizens are searching for more affordable middle-class options. The county has also renewed its focus on mixed-use housing, specifically surrounding town centers and other areas already high in pedestrian traffic. Robertson also has an office vacancy rate of only 3.7%, indicating a strong demand for existing office and retail space. Renovating existing space to create mixed-use developments can provide more office space in the urban core while also encouraging neighborhoods and reducing the need for new construction.

Conservation

As a primarily agricultural community, especially in its more northern areas, Robertson County is home to thousands of farmers in possession of hundreds of thousands of acres, and many face economic pressure to sell land to developers. Therefore, a key component of Robertson’s comprehensive plan is providing alternative options such as the sale or transfer of development rights.

County officials are also building a fledgling “agritourism” industry in which visitors interact with local farm through tours, crop picking and other entertaining activities. Agritourism can generate both revenue for farmers and awareness for participants, and the newly founded Tennessee Agritourism Association aims to capitalize on the latent potential of the state’s plentiful farm resources.

Robertson is also home to numerous freshwater streams, many of which are facing environmental challenges as the county has gradually grown. In visioning workshops, citizens overwhelmingly asked to protect these valuable water resources; furthermore, residents also requested greenways to conserve streams while also providing outdoor recreation space.

Land use and transportation

With more than 20,000 of Robertson’s 64,600 residents commuting into Nashville every day, major transit corridors merit special attention, but the county also hopes to grow opportunities within rather than outside of its borders. The release of the 2035 Tri-County Plan will significantly progress transportation efforts and direction for the county.

Efficient use of existing infrastructure

Given the large amount of vacant industrial buildings and the slow population growth projected for the county, the potential to capitalize on existing infrastructure is immense. To incentivize redevelopment, participants in the AIA visioning workshop recommended restricting sewer access to developments within the city limits, among other policy proposals. Furthermore, the location and well-maintenanced infrastructure along the I-65 corridor also creates a prime environment for development, thereby relieving development pressure on surrounding agricultural lands.

Thinking and acting regionally

As a participant in the first collaboration between the Nashville MPO and surrounding county comprehensive planning officials, Robertson County is blazing a trail for Middle Tennessee. Once the 2035 Plan moves into its implementation phase, Robertson and its neighbor counties will be able to cooperatively establish landmark policy changes that will hopefully set the bar high for regional smart growth.