The county permit and its three triggers
Arrington is an unincorporated community near Franklin, so land disturbance is the county’s business. Williamson County’s policy sets three triggers for its Land Disturbance Permit, and applications are filed through the county’s online plan portal:
- Disturbing more than one acre.
- Disturbing less than an acre when the lot is part of a larger common plan of development.
- Adding 10,000 square feet or more of impervious surface: paving, slabs, roofs.
Count the hard surface before the acres
The third trigger is the one people miss. A long paved driveway, a shop slab and a house roof can add up to 10,000 square feet on a lot that barely clears any ground. The permit then applies even though the clearing stayed small.
Whether the county permit applies is one of the first things we sort out on a site visit.
Subdivision lots and the “larger plan” clause
King’s Chapel, a gated subdivision of more than 420 homes beside the 1815 chapel, shows where much of the land around Arrington has gone. A single lot inside a development like that is part of a larger common plan. The county can want a permit for it even under an acre, and the state’s construction stormwater permit reads the same way: coverage reaches below one acre when the lot belongs to a plan of an acre or more.
The community takes its name from a nearby creek. Its first store and post office stood where Wilson Pike meets Murfreesboro Road, and Arrington School was on Cox Road.
Before a trench to the house site
Running water or power to a new house site starts with Tennessee 811, which asks for at least three working days’ notice before anyone digs. A ticket stays good for 15 calendar days from the start date you request. On a long run from the road, the marks have to be down before the trench opens, so that window goes into the schedule.