If the Williamson County Planning Commission approves the Arrington Village district this week, what could actually go up at the corner of Murfreesboro Road and Wilson Pike next year? The proposed use table can't answer that. The answer sits in a short passage of the county's own adopted plan, under the heading "Water and Sewer." It says municipal sewer service is not available in the village, and the use of individual septic systems is limited on many properties because the soils aren't suitable.
That sentence matters more than anything else in this debate. The zoning sets the shape of what Arrington's crossroads can become. Wastewater sets how fast, and how much, of it can happen.
What the New District Would Remove and Add
The proposal would replace the existing Hamlet district, along with some RD5 parcels, with a new Arrington Village district. The county's study area is compact, about 37 parcels on roughly 325 acres. In the public notice, the parcels carry addresses on Murfreesboro Road, Wilson Pike, Cox Road and Roberts Road.
Here is what the Williamson Herald reported would change and what would stay the same:
| Current Hamlet district | Proposed Arrington Village district | |
|---|---|---|
| Apartments, bars or taverns, golf courses, liquor stores, warehouses | Permitted | No longer permitted |
| Family subdivisions, assisted living, athletic facilities | Not permitted | Permitted |
| Residential density | Two units per acre | Two units per acre |
| Building height | Three stories | Three stories |
| Maximum building size | No cap reported in coverage | 25,000 sq. ft. on Murfreesboro Road, 15,000 sq. ft. elsewhere |
| Design standards | None reported in coverage | Parking placement, sidewalks and greenways, building orientation and more |
The Herald's summary uses the phrase "and more" on both lists, so this table isn't the full use table. Read the proposed ordinance itself for setbacks, minimum lot sizes and the complete list of permitted uses. The county's public notice says the ordinance would set minimum setbacks and lot sizes, maximum building dimensions, and allowed and appeal uses. It also says the contextual standards are meant to match new development to the character described in the adopted plan.
Density and height stay where they are today. The district doesn't raise the ceiling on how many homes can be built per acre or how tall a building can be. It changes which uses are allowed and what new buildings must look like.
The Condition the Plan Set for Itself
The Arrington Village Special Area Plan, adopted March 20, 2025, is the document this zoning is meant to carry out. Its vision statement describes a village with "small-scale, community-focused businesses and services that meet the daily needs of area residents." The last sentence of that statement is the one to read twice:
"A comprehensive wastewater strategy, and other infrastructure improvements, will be pursued as a means to address current limitations and support compatible development that is consistent with this vision."
The goals that follow are more direct. Under infrastructure, the plan says new development "should only be permitted if essential infrastructure is already in place." It puts the responsibility for roadway improvements and utility upgrades on developers. And it twice recommends considering a "non-traditional wastewater system" to serve the area's current and future needs.
Taken together, those passages describe the real gate. A parcel can be zoned for a neighborhood café, but a café needs somewhere for its wastewater to go. With no municipal sewer and limited septic, that problem has to be solved one project at a time or through a shared system the plan has only said should be considered. Domestic water and fire flows come from the Milcrofton Utility District, which the plan notes. Wastewater is the missing piece.
Earlier Williamson Herald coverage of the plan's final open house said the plan was meant to guide the character of future development rather than cause new development. The infrastructure language explains how that works in practice.
Why the Design Rules Do the Most Work in the Near Term
If wastewater limits the number of projects, the first ones to clear that hurdle will set the look of the crossroads for a long time. That puts the new design standards near the center of the proposal.
The plan's land use goals spell out what the community said it didn't want. They list industrial uses, big box stores, apartment complexes and mixed retail as examples of uses the standards should prohibit. The 25,000-square-foot cap on Murfreesboro Road and the 15,000-square-foot cap elsewhere turn the "no big box" wish into a number.
The design goals go further than the use list. They call for:
- Contextual requirements covering setbacks, scale and massing, so new buildings fit their surroundings
- A consistent look built from sidewalks, streetlamps, signage, landscaping and street furniture
- Gateway entrances that signal arrival into the village
- Protection of the riparian buffer along Arrington Creek, along with floodplains, hillsides and tree canopy
- Open space set aside within new development, and room for existing agriculture to continue
The infrastructure goals add safe pedestrian crossings on Highway 96. They also encourage sidewalks, bike lanes and trails for pedestrians, bicyclists and equestrians, built through community efforts and alongside new projects. Because the plan ties those amenities to new development, the developer of a project that solves its own wastewater problem would also be expected to build the sidewalk in front of it.
How the Crossroads Got Here
The corner at the center of the study area already has a commercial past. According to the plan's history, Arrington's original store and post office stood at the west corner of Wilson Pike and Murfreesboro Road. A railroad depot followed after rail service arrived in 1914. The community once had two stores, a livery stable, a grist mill and a blacksmith shop. Paschall Shopping Center went up at the northwest corner of the same intersection in 1939.
Today the plan's inventory counts three commercial parcels, mostly along Murfreesboro Road, plus the Arrington Volunteer Fire Department and the post office as institutional uses. The vision of a walkable village with daily-needs businesses has roots in what the crossroads already was.
The planning work started with the county's 2020 comprehensive plan. It named Arrington one of six rural-service "villages" and recommended a plan specific to each one. County Planning Department staff developed the Arrington plan with a Citizens Advisory Committee of residents, property and business owners, civic leaders, and county and planning commissioners. The public meetings went like this:
- Kickoff meeting on February 15, 2024
- First workshop on March 27, 2024
- Second workshop on May 29, 2024
- Third workshop on September 16, 2024
- Final draft-plan open house on February 3, 2025
Workshop participants identified issues, ranked priorities, drafted a vision and rated photographs of development types. Four themes came out of that work. The community wanted to preserve the village's existing character, encourage appropriate land uses, preserve natural resources, and address infrastructure and government services. The wastewater language in the plan's goals is how that last theme was written down.
What Happens This Week
The zoning was first set for a public hearing on September 10, 2026. County staff recommended deferring it after a problem with the county email system kept residents' emails from reaching commissioners. At that meeting, the Williamson Herald reported, residents said they wanted more chance to understand the proposal and raised concerns about keeping the rural feel, overdevelopment and transparency.
The rescheduled Planning Commission hearing is Thursday, October 8, at 5:30 p.m. at the Williamson County Administrative Complex, 1320 W. Main St., Franklin. Speaker sign-up sheets go out at 5 p.m., according to the county's September 24 notice. A separate County Commission public hearing was noticed for Monday, October 12, at 6 p.m. That date was published before the deferral, so check the county's live agenda before you plan around it.
As of October 4, nothing has been adopted. The full text of the adopted plan is on the Williamson County website, and the water and sewer section is a short read before Thursday.
If you own property inside the Arrington Village study area and want to talk through how the proposed district, the building-size caps or the wastewater question could affect your plans, Sarah Nicodemus and our team are glad to go through it with you. Start your journey home and book a free consultation.