September, 2003

The Turner family resides on a 555-acre farm in the heart of Brentwood, TN. In the summer of 2002, the family asked the community of Brentwood to work with them to develop a long-range plan for that land, acknowledging that they intended to continue living on the property for the foreseeable future.

Given the scope of opportunities possible with this land, the Turners engaged a planning firm with the great expertise in town planning. Dover Kohl & Partners was enlisted to develop a plan for this land in conjunction with input from the surrounding community. A plan was developed, revised and then submitted for review by the City of Brentwood in January, 2003. That plan called for a set of villages designed to preserve green space, including a large city park through the center of the property, a new downtown off Concord Road featuring a town square and several stories of mixed-used along a main street, plus other uses including an office buffer along I-65. The City Commission declined to review the application which specifically included a new mixed-use zoning Code along with a general land use plan which would guide future development whenever that would materialize.

Quickly following the rejection of the application was a city election for two of the five city commissioners. Several of the challengers included a desire to continue working on a land use plan for the Turner property as part of their platform. The Turners reminded the community that the land is currently zoned to be developed for more one house per acre subdivisions (as is seen throughout Brentwood) and stated their intent to sell part of the land if there was not change by way of the election. The incumbents retained their seats in early May claiming affirmation of the desire by the Brentwood community for more residential development at one house per acre.

At the end of the summer of 2003, the Turners decided to keep the land in its present configuration as a farm, as they continue to live on the property, and let the next generation in their family address its long term use.

This web site was developed to communicate all aspects of this planning project with the Brentwood community. The following sections tell the story:

The following sections tell the story:

• In the News – all news articles published along the
way
• Images – drawings and renderings of the proposed
plan (s)
• Process – a schedule of meetings and results
• Facts and Figures – density calculations, property
tax implications, traffic counts, etc…
• City of Brentwood – the City’s response
• Inspiration – a collage of built projects that inspired
the plan with links to other web sites
• Links – to related resources
• Presentation – a large power point presentation used in
meetings to present the plan
• FAQs – frequently asked questions
• Community Feedback – a copy of responses to
the initial survey
• Contact – the Turner family office or the planning firm