Public Open House on Design Guidelines for Citywide Development Sept. 18

A Public Open House is scheduled Monday, Sept. 18, from 3 p.m.-5 p.m.in the City Hall Rotunda at 111 West Vine Street in Murfreesboro to receive input from the public on proposed design guidelines for Murfreesboro development citywide.  The format of the meeting is come-and-go, with information stations staffed by planners and note-takers to capture comments and ideas.  All interested business owners, developers, community leaders and citizens are encouraged to attend and participate.  Consultants with Ragan-Smith Associates leading this work. 

The proposed design guidelines include the following four main subject areas: 

• Building site design, including siting, orientation, preservation, setbacks, parking, pedestrian system, access control, open space, lighting, utilities, stormwater facilities and management and service orientation;

• Architecture, including “sense of place,” design, general character, height and setbacks, building mass and scale, building elements, materials, color and roof design

• Landscape, including general requirements, screening and buffering, foundation plantings, residential and commercial street frontage trees, irrigation and service delivery capabilities

• Public street network, including street types, connectivity, traffic calming, public streetscape treatment, transit and service delivery capabilities.

Signage is not included as a main topic as the City of Murfreesboro recently enacted an updated sign ordinance. 

Work on the design guidelines began in January 2016 with the establishment of a Steering Committee, a review of design guidelines that were proposed in 2005 and the establishment of areas of focus for revisions.   In 2005, work on design guidelines for Murfreesboro, which spanned approximately 18 months, was slowed and then halted with the onset of the economic recession.  As Murfreesboro is experiencing unprecedented growth now and for the foreseeable future, adopting citywide design guidelines is a vital step in ensuring a healthy balance between such varied interests as history, business, green spaces, the arts, recreation, a clean environment, affordable housing and education, while at the same time maintaining a strong foundation for job growth and economic development.  According to the Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce, Murfreesboro’s population is 132,379. The city ranked as the tenth fastest-growing city in the nation between July 1, 2015 and July 1, 2016. 

Diversifying and expanding the jobs base has been a goal of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County since 2000, when a key study performed by Middle Tennessee State University found that while manufacturing employment continued to be strong in the region, manufacturing alone could not provide the County with the number and quality of jobs, wages and the superior quality of life that Rutherford Countians expect.  Multiple initiatives, including Destination Rutherford, the Gateway Class A office space development, a conference center, a visitors center, and an expanded roadway signage program, among others, have provided a strong foundation since that time for improved jobs growth. 

The Design Guidelines Steering Committee includes Amy Farrar, attorney, Farrar|Wright; Rick LaLance, Pinnacle Financial Partners and Murfreesboro City Council member; Blake Smith, Smith Design/Build; Beth Duffield, Rutherford County Chamber of Commerce Workforce Development; Jim Lowen, architect, Lowen Associates; John Blankenship, commercial real estate developer, The Parks

Group; Matt Taylor, design engineer, SEC, Inc.; and Kathy Jones, managing broker, The Parks Group. 

“Having clearly defined design guidelines will help developers and companies who want to locate or expand here better understand the type of development our community is looking for,” said Margaret Ann Green, AICP, Principal Planner for the City of Murfreesboro and lead Murfreesboro planner for this project. “We have a long history of working effectively to balance the interests of developers with our community’s strong desire to emphasize functionality and aesthetics, and these design guidelines will help us articulate these expectations and requirements without ambiguity.” 

Ragan-Smith developed the Master Plan for Murfreesboro’s Gateway project and has worked on multiple development and planning projects and studies in the mid-state region.

A Facebook page has been created to help provide information and input.  Please go tohttps://www.facebook.com/Murfreesborodesignguidelines/ to like the page and provide comments, which will be captured and provided to the consulting team. 

For information about the Murfreesboro Design Guidelines, contact Margaret Ann Green, City of Murfreesboro Planning, at 615.893.6441 or via email at [email protected].