Pillar 5 of 5
Tools, Not Just Talk
"The 5-acre rule is the symptom. The disease is that Coffee County has had no real planning framework for 21 years. On Day 1, I'll bring a full repeal to your commissioners — and I'll bring the replacement with it."
12 actions · Full 5-acre repeal, HB1720, IDD, Urban Growth Boundary, AFT, Tourism Development Zone · Includes 4 new state laws from the just-concluded 2026 TN General Assembly session
The model — and why Coffee County can go further
Sevier County turned tourism into $11,191 per household in annual tax savings. Humphreys County built a new school on a $23.8M USDA loan. Coffee County has both opportunities in front of it.
Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters established a 3% lodging tax outside city limits in 2007. The county split the revenue 50/50 between tourism infrastructure and schools. The result: Sevier County households save an estimated $11,191 per year compared to what their property tax would be without the tourism revenue base. Tourism dollars do not require rooftops. They do not require desks in classrooms. They require a mayor who captures them.
Humphreys County built a new school using a $23.8 million USDA Community Facilities Direct Loan — the same federal program that is available to Coffee County for Hickerson Station and East Coffee Elementary. The money is real. The tools are available. What has been missing is a mayor willing to use them.
Just last week, the Tennessee General Assembly sent to the Governor's desk a bill that lets Coffee County's commission reclaim full zoning authority over our unincorporated land. I've said from Day 1 that the 5-acre rule has to go. We now have the legal pathway.
Sources: Sevier County tourism model (Waters, 2007) — $11,191/household tax savings figure per comparative county research. Humphreys County: USDA CF Direct Loan for new school construction (2021-22), $23.8M. HB1720/SB1771: passed TN House 77-15-1, Apr 22, 2026; awaiting governor signature ~May 10.
12 Actions — Repeal, Replace, Build the Framework
A60 — Day 31-60 (post-signature)
Bring an HB1720 zoning reclamation resolution to the Commission
I've said from Day 1 that the 5-acre rule has to be repealed and replaced with a real planning framework. Just last week, the Tennessee General Assembly gave us the legal pathway to do exactly that. HB1720 (passed 77-15-1 in the House, April 22) lets Coffee County's commission reclaim full zoning authority over our unincorporated land — ending the situation where a regional planning commission can override the county's own elected commissioners. Once the Governor signs HB1720, I will bring this jurisdictional resolution to your commission as the first step toward full repeal. This is the jurisdictional prerequisite for the substantive 5-acre repeal (A29).
Authority: HB1720/SB1771, passed TN House 77-15-1 Apr 22, 2026; Senate action complete; awaiting governor signature ~May 10. Coffee County qualifies (six metro counties carved out; Coffee not among them).
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
New — 2026 GA Session
A29 — First commission meeting / Quarter 1 vote
By the first commission meeting after I'm sworn in: bring a full repeal of the 5-acre rule — with the real planning framework to replace it
The 5-acre minimum lot size was adopted as a blunt moratorium, not as a planning policy. It is consuming approximately 1,350 acres per year with no planning discipline. Coffee County is the subject of Wall Street Journal coverage as a national example of large-lot zoning dysfunction. By the first commission meeting after I'm sworn in, I will bring a full repeal resolution — not a reform, not a family exception, not a modified version. Full repeal. With the replacement package: interim development standards, the IDD enabling framework (A30), the Urban Growth Boundary amendment (A36), and HB1720 zoning reclamation (A60) already in motion. The two-step sequence is: A60 (jurisdictional) then A29 (substantive repeal) then A30 (infrastructure-based replacement). The commission votes. I need 10 of 18 votes for most zoning changes; I will not bring it to the floor without them confirmed.
Authority: TCA 13-7-105 (county zoning). Simple majority (10/18) required for most zoning changes; planning commission acts first. WSJ coverage: Cameron McWhirter, July 19, 2025.
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
A30 — Month 1 opinion / Month 2-3 draft / Quarter 1+ vote
Make Coffee County the first county in Tennessee to use an Infrastructure Development District — once the county attorney confirms our path
Tennessee passed legislation in 2024 and 2025 enabling Infrastructure Development Districts. IDD is the mechanism that makes the 5-acre repeal fiscally defensible: new development pays for its own roads, utilities, and infrastructure through a self-assessment on the property owners inside the district. It converts the 5-acre fight from a density argument into a fairness argument. On Day 1, I will call CTAS and the county attorney for an opinion on which statute applies to Coffee County at the county level. First county in Tennessee if our path is clear. Gallatin (Sumner County) was the first city to use it — March 17, 2026. We want to be the first county.
Authority: TCA 7-84-701 et seq. (Residential Infrastructure Development Act, 2024). Gallatin/Sumner County = first TN city, March 17, 2026. Cost avoidance per major subdivision: $1.5-4M projected.
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
A31 — Month 1 eligibility / Month 2-3 if eligible
Get an Adequate Facilities Tax — the same tool Bedford County uses to make growth pay for the schools growth requires
Manchester already uses an Adequate Facilities Tax. I'll work to bring that same tool to unincorporated Coffee County — coordinated with Manchester's structure so families building in either place know exactly what they owe. Bedford County collects AFT at $1.00 per square foot. If state law doesn't yet allow Coffee County to do it, I will work with Senator Bowling and Representative Bricken to change that. Note: an AFT requires a 2/3 supermajority of the commission (12 of 18 votes) — coalition-building starts Day 1. Eligibility confirmation through CTAS is the first step.
Authority: TCA 5-3-108 (County Powers Relief Act, 2/3 supermajority required); TCA 67-4-2907. Peer: Bedford County (adjacent) at $1.00/sq ft.
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
A36 — Month 1 filing
File the notice that starts the Urban Growth Boundary amendment — our growth plan hasn't been touched in 21 years
Coffee County's growth plan was last amended in 2005 — 21 years without an update. In 2024, 56% of new construction (204 of 367 permits) was in unincorporated areas with no infrastructure planning. The county mayor has unilateral authority to file a notice that triggers the UGB amendment process. Filing that notice is the single most consequential land use action requiring no prior approval. I will file it in Month 1. The full process takes 9-18 months; filing now means a potential adoption in Year 2. Note: filing the notice triggers a mandatory obligation to reconvene the coordinating committee within 60 days.
Authority: TCA 6-58-104(a)(2) — "the county mayor may propose an amendment by filing notice...the county mayor MUST reconvene the coordinating committee within 60 days." Final amendment requires commission, Manchester, Tullahoma, and LGPAC.
Mayor Unilateral Trigger
A52 — Week 1
Week 1: call CTAS to unlock the hotel tax, AFT eligibility, and visitor-revenue questions
A single call to CTAS resolves the hotel tax, AFT eligibility, and visitor-revenue questions that sit at the foundation of Coffee County's revenue capture strategy. Sevier County's 3% lodging tax outside city limits — split between tourism infrastructure and schools — is the directional model. Coffee County has $146 million in annual tourism economic impact. Tourism dollars do not require rooftops. They do not require desks in classrooms. They require a mayor who asks for the right to collect them.
Authority: TCA 67-4-1402 (hotel/motel general law); TCA 67-4-2907 (AFT). Tourism economic impact: $146M (2024 countywide). Sevier County peer: $11,191/household annual tax savings estimate.
Mayor Convenes
A48 — Month 2-3
Partner with SCTDD on a real growth study and an honest look at I-24 corridor capacity
The South Central Tennessee Development District has Coffee County data capacity and regional planning expertise that Coffee does not have in-house. A current growth study — I-24 corridor capacity, development pressure, infrastructure needs — provides the analytical foundation for every land use decision in Years 1-2, including the Urban Growth Boundary amendment.
Authority: TCA 12-9-104 (Interlocal).
Mayor Convenes
A58 — Quarter 1 groundwork / 2027 GA session
Work with Senator Bowling and Representative Bricken on AFT enabling legislation for the 2027 General Assembly
If CTAS confirms that Coffee County does not yet meet the growth-rate thresholds for the Adequate Facilities Tax under current law, the legislative path runs through the 2027 General Assembly session. Senator Bowling is a property rights champion. Representative Bricken represents HD-47. Both are the right sponsors for a bill that lowers the AFT eligibility thresholds or creates a Coffee County-specific path. Groundwork starts in Quarter 1 — relationship building, legislative language drafting, coalition assembly. This is a multi-year effort. No wheel tax — ever. That alternative has failed three times in Coffee County and is not on the table.
Authority: TCA 67-4-2907 amendment required. Coffee County growth rate (~9.7%) may fall below both current AFT thresholds. Private acts blocked since June 2006. Sponsors: Sen. Janice Bowling (SD-16), Rep. Rush Bricken (HD-47).
Mayor Convenes / State Legislative
A51 — Day 1
Call OLDCC — the federal government will pay for our planning study around Arnold AFB
A federally-funded Joint Land Use Study for Arnold Air Force Base — which does not currently exist — can become the data-driven, DoD-compatible planning framework that replaces the 5-acre rule's blunt moratorium. The federal government will fund the study through OLDCC. No prior Coffee County mayor has made this call.
Authority: TCA 5-6-106. JLUS grant: $250-400K. DCIP: $3-10M for AFB-adjacent infrastructure (10-25% local match). Arnold AFB: 39,000 acres, $1.233B annual economic impact, $4.6B active federal contracts.
Mayor Convenes
A53 — Week 1
Get on the state's radar for the new K-12 construction fund — Hickerson and East Coffee tell the story
Tennessee's new state K-12 construction fund (funded by sports betting revenue, approximately $80M/year statewide) is new enough that the rules are not yet final. Establishing a relationship with the state Department of Education before the Notice of Funding Availability drops means Coffee County has a personal contact when the window opens. Hickerson Station (built 1948) and East Coffee Elementary (built 1963) need no additional argument. Coordinated through the school board and the Superintendent of Coffee County Schools. The TACIR-identified countywide school capital need is $58.6M.
Authority: TCA 49-3-1002. Capital need: $58.6M (TACIR 2026 countywide). Peer: Humphreys County USDA CF school loan, $23.8M.
Mayor Convenes
A63 — Day 30-60
Commission a 30-60 day feasibility review on whether Coffee County's tourism corridor qualifies for a Tourism Development Zone
Last week the Tennessee General Assembly passed a new Tourism Development Zone framework (HB2366/SB2157, enacted April 23). TDZs are formal economic protection zones with state-backed access management, sanitation and event authority, and concurrent THP jurisdiction. Coffee County's tourism corridor — Highway 41 / Tim's Ford / Bonnaroo-adjacent area — has been under-leveraged since the per-ticket Bonnaroo event fee lapsed. I will commission a 30-to-60-day feasibility review on whether the corridor qualifies. This study does not commit to TDZ designation — that is a separate commission decision later. It answers the threshold question first.
Authority: HB2366/SB2157 (TDZ framework), ENACTED April 23, 2026. Amends TCA Titles 5, 6, 7, 67. Tourism: $146M economic impact (2024). Peer: Sevier County tourism corridor model.
Mayor Proposes, Commission Votes
New — 2026 GA Session
A22 — Week 1 / Month 2
Bring in UT Extension to help our farmers with the Governor's preservation easement program
The Tennessee Farmland Preservation Act (PC 470, May 2025) provides $25 million in conservation easements effective July 2026. Coffee County has more than 700 farms. The UT Extension Office is one block from the Assessor. Cheryl committed to this on camera at the April 16 Thunder Radio forum. Holding farmer seminars on the preservation easement program before the first cycle closes is a zero-cost action that protects the agricultural character of Coffee County without requiring a zoning fight.
Authority: TCA 5-6-106; TCA 49-9-106 (UT Extension). PC 470 enacted May 2025. USDA 2022: 700+ farms in Coffee County.
Mayor Convenes
Vote May 5, 2026 — Early Voting Ends April 30
"Just last week, the Tennessee General Assembly gave us the legal pathway. The 5-acre rule has to go. On Day 1 — the resolution goes to your commissioners."