College Grove: Defining & Planning for Rural Villages

In Case Studies, Publications, Quality Growth, Resource, Williamson
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Quality Growth Case Study

Written by Kasey Talbott, 2010

Williamson County’s focus on preserving and enhancing rural hamlets and villages such as College Grove and Leipers Fork have been seen as models for the Middle Tennessee region. Using planning standards typically designed for more urban areas. These individual plans work with community residents’ vision to design custom plans that enhance community character, encourage mixed use and denser development in the community center, and preserve the immediate rural landscape surroundings.

View the College Grove Case Study, PDF

Background

Williamson County has gained a reputation as being a proactive planning community. The county adopted The Comprehensive Land Use Plan in 2007 with a long range and on county-wide themes focus. While its focus is on unincorporated county territory, it was prepared in light of municipal and urban growth boundary plans. In particular there is a strong desire in Williamson County to preserve open spaces in both public and private capacities and to preserve the character of rural communities such as rural villages like College Grove.

The core area of College Grove was identified in the Williamson County Comprehensive Plan as one of four Villages. These Villages, which also include Grassland, Leipers Fork, and Triune, are relatively small mixed use “centers” that serve as focal points for the largely rural communities surrounding them. The comprehensive plan recommended that a special area plan be prepared for each village, thus allowing a more detailed level of planning to occur within these important areas of the county.

Collaborative Leadership

College Grove Village

The planning process for the College Grove Special Area Plan included a number of key planning phases with a strong emphasis on public participation. Multiple stakeholders were involved throughout the process, ensuring the plan was inclusive of the community’s ideas and preferences. The plan was prepared in close consultation with the College Grove Citizens Advisory Committee, which served as a sounding board throughout the process and helped to reconcile the various points of view in the community.

Phase 1: Background and Existing Conditions Research
Phase 2: Development of Citizens Advisory Committee
Phase 3: Public Involvement Meetings
Phase 4: Development of the Plan

Visioning & Consensus

Before the public involvement and plan development phases were initiated, a better understanding of the history and current conditions of the College Grove Village was conducted. Staff members from the Williamson County Planning Department spent several months conducting research regarding various aspects of the College Grove Village. In addition to understanding the historical context of the community, the staff set out to develop a current assessment and inventory of such features as:

Land Uses
Environmental and Natural Resources
Transportation and Infrastructure
Community Facilities

Early in the planning process, citizens were asked to identify what they felt were the most important planning issues facing College Grove and to articulate their vision for the future of the Village. While a fairly wide range of issues were identified during these exercises, the following common themes emerged:

Preserve Small Town Character
Encourage Appropriate Land Uses
Preserve Open Space
Address Transportation and Infrastructure Needs

Program Action & Strategic Implementation

The Goals and Objectives were organized around several categories that were established early in the process of the Plan’s development.

Land Use Goals and Objectives

Goal A: New development should respect and enhance the Village’s small town atmosphere.

Tailor new development standards to ensure compatibility with the scale and character of the Village.
Promote in-fill and adaptive reuse of the current building stock as a first choice for new development.
New residential development will respect and enhance the existing character of the Village.

Goal B: Encourage a variety of complementary land uses, while reinforcing the historical development pattern of the Village.

Develop standards that ensure new uses will be compatible with those uses already in the Village.
Establish development standards that preserve the character of the existing residential areas.
Strengthen the Village by continuing the historic land use pattern of a historical, pedestrian-oriented downtown/commercial center with a surrounding mix of residential and agricultural uses.

Goal C: Encourage the preservation of open space and agricultural uses, which contribute to the Village’s rural quality of life.

New development standards will be created to allow for a variety of agricultural and agri-tourism uses.
Reestablish a compact downtown core to conserve open space in the outlying areas of the Village.
New development standards shall incorporate provisions for the protection of natural resources.
New development standards will require the preservation of open space with new development within the Village.

Goal D: Discourage land uses that are inconsistent with
the character of the Village.

Protect neighborhoods from adverse impacts of both new and redevelopment.
Prohibit uses such as big-box and heavy industrial, which would be inconsistent the current and historical character of the Village.
Promote land uses that meet the needs of the immediate surrounding community.

Design/Character Goals and Objectives

Goal A: Preserve and enhance the Village’s small town charm and rural character. Consider the development of an association that would promote the cooperation between citizens and the business community. The organization could work towards initiatives such as coordination in property upkeep, streetscape design, and landscaping.

The community should pursue a visually cohesive Village through consistency of design. Elements tobe included are sidewalks, street lamps, signage, landscaping, and street furniture, so that a distinct character/identity is recognized throughout the Village.
Identify gateway entrances into the Village and enhance their visual stock through signage and landscaping.

Goal B: New development will be consistent in appearance, size, and scale with the established character and identity of the Village.

Develop standards to ensure compatibility with the current and historical size, scale and form that exists within the Village.
Provide a physical development guide for property owners, developers, and local decision makers.

Goal C: Encourage the protection of the Village’s historic, cultural, and natural resources.

Establish new development standards that prevent the adverse impact on natural resources.
New development standards should include criteria for natural resource protection, while also promoting environmentally-friendly development practices.

Infrastructure/Transportation Goals & Objectives

Goal A: Encourage an interconnected transportation network that is friendly to a variety of transportation modes.

Improve safety and user/pedestrian friendliness in the downtown through streetscape improvements, traffic calming design, and a reduction in speed limits.
Pursue the development pedestrian and bike amenities, such as sidewalks, lanes, and trails.
Minimize conflicts among auto, bicycle, and pedestrian users for a safe traffic circulation throughout the Village.

Goal B: Explore infrastructure improvements as a means to address current problems and limitations, as well as to support compatible new development that is consistent with this Vision.

Consider the creation of a non-traditional wastewater treatment and disposal system to retrofit existing septic systems and to accommodate new development consistent with this Plan.
Engage in discussions with the water utility provider to explore ways to improve the water supply.
Pursue the opportunities for future enhancement of recreational, cultural, civic, and intellectual facilities within the Village.

Current Status

The completion of the College Grove Village Special Area Plan has led to a framework for future development. Williamson County planners will now work with the Leiper’s Fork community and develop a similar plan, but reflective of its own unique character. Joe Horne, Community Development Director for Williamson County, describes the planning approach in this own terms.