MURFREESBORO, TN (WGNS Radio) - Tensions mounted during Thursday (1/22/2026) night’s Rutherford County Commission meeting. The mood was volatile as commissioners pushed the button and cast their electronic vote on PlanRutherford. By a vote of 12 – 9 the Commission voted to send the county’s long-range comprehension plan back to the Planning Committee. The vote allowed the commission to attached an amendment to change the number of homes in rural areas from 1 per acre, as proposed in the original plan, to instead allow 2 homes per acre.
Commissioner Pettus Read strongly noted, “It totally changes the RURAL LIVING CHARACTER in Rutherford County.”
Read told NewsRadio WGNS, “From social media, phone calls and other contacts I have received after Thursday night’s vote—the rural sector is very upset….”
Commissioner Read serves District 8 that covers the southwestern area of the county, including all of Eagleville, the Rockvale community, and parts of western Murfreesboro.
Read continued, “My thoughts at this time are that the Planning Commission will vote to not make the requested change and send it back to the full Commission for further discussions.”
He explained that the Planning Commission has 60 days to consider the request.
The district 8 Commissioner concluded, “ I had hoped that the commission would have adopted PlanRutherford as presented, so we could have gone to work as a unified body for the benefit of the citizens of this county dealing with unprecedented growth.”
PlanRutherford now goes back to the Planning Committee for analysis of the commission’s amendment to allow 2 houses per one acre of land, rather than 1 home per acre as presented in the original PlanRutherford.
Commissioner Read underscored, "This will totally change the character of rural Rutherford County."
The Other View
WGNS wishes to provide all sides of the issue. The modification desired is regarding the Rural Living Character Area, allowing a higher end density of up to two units per acre instead of one. Thursday's vote came after nearly five years of open houses and information events that allowed attendees to learn about and provide feedback on the comprehensive growth plan. It was an update to the plan adopted on April 25, 2011.
Rutherford County Commission Chairman Jeff Phillips has been involved with the study, research, and planning to update the current 20 year plan.
Phillips said, “Results are not what I expected or what the Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission approved, but I am confident Plan Rutherford will pass. I plan to support the decision and recommendation made by the Rutherford County Commission.”
Rutherford County District 16 Commissioner Phil Dodd made the motion to amend the plan.
“The political system worked well in Rutherford County at last night’s Plan Rutherford public hearing,” Dodd said. “I commend Chairman Phillips for managing the debate on such a critical matter with patient authority. I commend the efforts of the Planning Commission and the Plan Rutherford Steering Committee. And especially, I commend Doug Demosi and the entire Rutherford County Planning Department staff for their tireless efforts on PlanRutherford. Having said that, I have felt strongly, for the duration of the Plan’s evolution, that a base line of lot size of one acre or greater in the Rural Living portion of the Plan map is detrimental to the affordability of new homes. This large minimum lot size as a base line is also harmful to potential income to landowners. I look forward to ultimately casting a vote of support for the Plan at an upcoming Commission hearing.”
The county partnered with Middle Tennessee’s regional planning and economic development agency, the Greater Nashville Regional Council, to help develop the update to the comprehensive plan.
PlanRutherford is Rutherford County’s long‑range comprehensive plan. It outlines how the county should grow, where development should go, and what areas should be preserved.
It guides decisions on roads, schools, utilities, and land use as the population increases. It is a policy roadmap, not a zoning law, but it influences future planning and infrastructure choices.
