The Maury County Commission voted 20 to 0 Monday night to deny the Crosswaters Reserve rezoning request. Every commissioner in the room voted no. The proposal to transform 1,339 acres of the former Monsanto Chemical Company campus in Santa Fe into a 1,300-home resort community centered on Monsanto Lake is denied.
The room was packed. People came from all across the county to participate in their local government happenings. Like every commission meeting, they opened with a prayer asking for God to grant the commissioners wisdom as representatives of the citizens of Maury County.
The Developer Made His Case
The developer's attorney, Reed Martz, had seven minutes. He argued the site is north of the Duck River and was never part of Monsanto's chemical processing operations. He pointed to the TDEC brownfield agreement as proof the land is clean. He said the project fits the county's comprehensive plan, would deliver 1,313 new homes and 150,000 square feet of commercial space, and would generate $5.1 billion in economic impact over 20 years. He asked the commissioners plainly: if not this, then what?
The Commissioners Spoke for Their People
Commissioner Aaron Miller had been hearing from constituents since the project was announced. He knew his vote before he walked in. But he wanted to say something more than a procedural reason.
"There are things that are more valuable than dollar signs and the GDP and the line graph constantly going up," he said. "Those things include preserving the natural beauty of God's creation, being good stewards of the gifts that we've been given, knowing that we can plant a tree whose shade we will never sit under, but that our children will."
Commissioner Gabe Howard pointed to the planning commission's unfavorable recommendation and the incompatibility with the comprehensive land use plan. Commissioner Scott Sumners said the proposal does not fit the character of that part of the county and noted the county is actively developing a new land use plan. County Mayor Sheila Butt read directly from the current comprehensive plan: the rural character of that area is meant to be preserved and enhanced, not replaced.
Then the People Spoke
After the commissioners had their say, Maury County residents took the microphone for public comment.
Jordan Rouden, a District 9 resident, did the math. If the development claims 975 single-family homes on roughly 500 acres of residential land, he said, that is not one unit per acre as advertised. "That doesn't math, guys," he said. "Make it make sense."
Chris Gramling, also from District 9, laid out the three reasons the proposal fails the county's own zoning ordinance: incompatibility with the surrounding area, infrastructure strain, and the planning commission's unanimous recommendation for denial. When people think of Santa Fe, he said, they think of farms, churches, rural homes, and the Santa Fe Diner. Not a 400-room hotel and a marina.
The commissioners gave their answer. Twenty votes. All of them no.
What This Form of Government Is For
As America approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, it is worth pausing on what happened in that room Monday night.
A packed commission chamber. Neighbors standing in the back. A prayer for wisdom. Public comment. Debate. A vote.
This is the thing the founders built. Not perfect, not fast, not always tidy, but accountability rooted in the people it represents. Commissioner Miller said he had been hearing from his constituents and would be following through on their wishes. That is the covenant of representative government.
Maury County has now voted against proposals for this land three times. A landfill. A waste processing facility. A resort. Each time the community showed up. Each time the answer was no.
That is not obstruction. That is a community that knows what it is and what it wants to remain.
The Work Is Not Finished
The vote was unanimous but the underlying questions have not changed. The old Monsanto campus is still there. It is still zoned heavy industrial. The county is developing its new comprehensive land use plan and those public meetings are happening now in Culleoka, in Santa Fe, in Mount Pleasant and Hampshire through this week. If you want a say in what Maury County looks like for years to come, those are the rooms to be in.
The developer has not indicated whether it plans to appeal or return with a revised proposal. That is worth watching.
There are a variety of opinions on what the growth of Maury County should look like. Not everyone will be happy with every decision. There will be compromises to make and common ground to find. There are ditches on both sides of the road that should be avoided. Even so, the commissioners and residents of this county made it clear on Monday that the Crosswaters development does not align with the vision for this piece of middle Tennessee.