MOUNT JULIET, Tenn. (WTVF) — Mount Juliet city leaders approved a one-year pause on accepting applications for some new apartments and townhomes to address rapid growth.
However, the decision was not unanimous among city commissioners.
The pause aims to slow high-density residential building until planned road projects are further along and can handle the population increase.
"We have over 4,000 residential units that are already under construction. We have another, over 2,000 residential units that have been approved," City Commissioner Scott Hefner said. “When people complain about growth, and look, I'm one of these people, right? I live here too. They're really complaining about the congestion, the traffic.”
Hefner serves Mount Juliet’s third district.
He pushed the city to implement the pause partially due to the impact on local roads.
"It's a pause on the city accepting applications for apartments and townhomes," Hefner said.
"When you have a 300-unit apartment complex that's opening its doors, you have potentially 300 families moving in on day one," Hefner said.
There is a bit of a catch to the pause though, it does not impact residential buildings that include a retail or commercial component.
"The people think it does something that it doesn't do," said City Commissioner Jennifer Milele, who serves District 3 in Mount Juliet.
Milele didn’t vote for the pause and noted the board has never approved a strictly residential apartment building during her tenure.
"No one wants just apartments. So the city needs retail," Milele said.
Milele also argued that pausing building will not speed up road projects.
"I try to tell people that we get most of our infrastructure from development, which saves tax dollars," Milele said.
Hefner originally proposed a pause months ago that included mixed-use residential and commercial buildings, but it did not move forward.
He continued pushing for the current version. Even though it didn't delivery everything he wanted, he believes it's a step in the right direction.
"I'm of the strong opinion that progress, any amount of progress, over inactivity — I'll take that all day long, every day," Hefner said.
The pause is in effect now, but could be changed with future amendments.
Robb Coles covers Wilson County for NewsChannel 5. If you live in Wilson County and have concerns about something impacting your community, reach out to Robb at robb.coles@newschannel5.com.
This story was reported on-air by Robb Coles and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Coles verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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