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As part of the ongoing process to update the county’s zoning resolutions,

The month’s long effort to update the resolutions have intensified following a 180-day moratorium on hearing major subdivision plats that passed the County Commission on March 11.

This recommendation, that will need to go before the County Commission, would tighten the restrictions on allowable side setbacks from the current allowance for residential homes to be built with 25 ft. side setbacks, creating a minimum of 50 ft. between a structure and the neighbors, unless that home is located in an area with low hydrant water flow.

This proposal is a 180-degree change in direction from the Planning Commission’s move to remove fire flow setback restrictions two years ago. 

Back at the May 2023 Planning Commission meeting, members approved a recommendation that would have deleted language in the codes that required larger setbacks for areas with limited fire hydrant water flow. This matter did not appear before the full commission.

“What we’re doing here is ludicrous,” then-planning member Dennis Hunt (and Current Coffee County Mayor) said concerning the fire flow restriction. Hunt said during that meeting that in his research on the issue, the state fire marshal will grant a certificate of occupancy with a 10-foot setback.

“There’s no other county in the state of Tennessee (that requires) a 50 ft. side yard,” Hunt said at that time.

Planning Commissioner Randy Harrell at the time approached Rutherford County Fire Chief Larry Farley in researching the fire safety aspect of the resolution.     

Farley told commissioners by phone that 50 ft. (provided by two adjacent 25 ft. setbacks) would provide adequate fire protection. He said a fire could spread 25 ft. to a neighboring home, but at “50 ft. if a house is on fire, it would most likely melt the vinyl siding and eaves, but it won’t be enough to ignite the under board up under it.”

During the April 23, 2025 meeting, area volunteer firefighters were asked to speak on the matter. New Union Volunteer Department Fire Chief Sammy Morton and Assistant Chief Dillon Harris recounted their experiences of local fires that have ignited neighboring structures.  

“Approximately four years ago we had a structure fire on Blackberry Lane,” Morton said. “Hillsboro Fire’s response time was approximately six minutes.”

Morton said the house next door’s siding was burned along with a portion of the roof. He warned that in a similar fire in North Coffee, the family in the adjacent house didn’t wake up and that their smoke detector didn’t go off because of an exterior fire.

“I’m worried that if we get them too close together that we can have fires jump,” Morton said.

Harris, a full time Murfreesboro firefighter, noted that the average rural fire response time is 14 minutes. He said that the flashover time for a house fire to go from a minor fire to fully engulf is 3-5 minutes.

“At 14-minutes, by the time we get there most of these houses are gone to full combustion, and are fully involved and are going to the next house,” Harris said.

Planning member Rodney Duncan made a motion to designate setbacks in A-1 districts to be 50 for the front, 50 for the side and 50 at the rear for all lot sizes. The motion was seconded by Harrell and passed unanimously.