New Rules Require Second Entrance for Dickson County Subdivisions With More Than 30 Homes

Charlotte, TN — New subdivisions with more than 30 homes will generally need at least two access points under new development standards approved by the Dickson County Commission, following a lengthy discussion over emergency access and whether multiple entrances could create additional traffic hazards.

The County Commission approved the new access-management standards during its Sept. 21 meeting as part of a larger package of amendments to the county's zoning resolution.

Under the new standards, a subdivision with 30 dwelling units or fewer can have one access point. Once a development reaches 31 units, two access points are required. Developments with 151 or more units require three.

Commercial developments with more than 30 parking spaces will also be required to have a second access point.

County attorney Andrew Mills said the county previously did not have an access-management standard that applied across the board. He said Burns, White Bluff and the City of Dickson already have access-management standards of their own.

The proposal generated some of the longest discussion of the meeting as commissioners questioned whether 31 homes was the appropriate point to require a second entrance.

Commissioner Rusty Grove raised concerns that requiring multiple entrances for relatively small developments could create its own traffic problems, particularly when entrances are located close together along the same road.

"Thirty houses is not a lot of houses," Grove said during the discussion.

Grove argued that multiple entrances could result in additional locations where vehicles are slowing, stopping and turning along a roadway. He suggested that an emergency-only secondary access or "blowout" point could sometimes make more sense than requiring two regular entrances.

Mills acknowledged the concern but said officials also have to consider what happens when dozens of homes depend upon a single entrance.

"When you start getting 30, 40, 50 homes with one access, the concern starts to be emergency management access," Mills said.

A crash or another emergency blocking the entrance could potentially leave residents with no other way out while also making it more difficult for emergency responders to enter the subdivision.

County Mayor Danny Williams said the requirement may make more sense in unincorporated Dickson County than in higher-density municipal developments because much of the county's residential development occurs on larger tracts.

Officials noted that the new standard does not necessarily mean a subdivision must have two large entrances located beside each other on the same road.

The requirement is for another access point to a public road. Depending on the property, that could potentially mean a primary entrance on one road and another access point elsewhere in the development.

State highways present another consideration.

Officials explained that the Tennessee Department of Transportation controls access to state routes. A developer may receive county approval showing two entrances, but if TDOT determines that only one connection to the state highway will be allowed, the county must follow that determination.

Commissioners also discussed whether the 31-unit threshold was unusually restrictive compared with existing county requirements.

Mills noted that Dickson County already has a stricter requirement within its R-3 zoning regulations. An amendment approved approximately two years ago requires two access points for developments containing 25 or more lots in that zoning district.

The newly approved provision establishes a broader standard across county zoning classifications.

The access requirements are part of a larger effort by the county to address the effects of continued development on roads and surrounding properties.

During the same meeting, commissioners approved expanded requirements for traffic impact studies. The threshold for subdivisions requiring a traffic study was lowered from 50 lots to 10, while commercial and industrial developments can also be subject to traffic studies.

Those studies can help determine whether a development will require improvements such as turn lanes, deceleration lanes or work along the frontage of a county road.

Commissioners ultimately approved the zoning amendments without changing the 31-unit threshold.

The result is a new countywide standard aimed at ensuring larger subdivisions have more than one way in and out — while leaving county officials to balance that emergency-access goal against concerns about adding too many entrances along local roads as Dickson County continues to develop.