I have lived in Williamson County for 35 years. I represent Citizens for Old Natchez Trace and know that I speak for many other County citizens. 

For decades now, I have stood to speak on behalf of Citizens' regarding the out of control growth that has been consuming our County. 

I feel much like the robot in TV show “Lost in Space” saying, “Danger, Will Robinson, Danger.” Except in this scenario I and other citizens have been saying, "Danger, Williamson County, Danger" -- in a show we could call, “Lost in Growth. ”

This evening you will learn from Mike Matteson’s update on the Comprehensive Land Use Plan that finds, and I quote, “The primary theme of the feedback received from the citizens, thus far, is a common desire to preserve the rural characteristics of Williamson County that make it special. It also finds that citizens feel that one-unit-per-acre zoning is not 'rural.'" 

I attended the meeting in mid-April at the County library and it was standing room only. That packed room represented the type of growth I like to see. Citizens in our County stood up... speaking out in growing numbers, telling County officials that we are in danger of losing our valuable and treasured rural, scenic and historic landscapes. 

But to sell preservation and protection you must show the economic benefit of doing the right thing. 

Williamson County’s 'Town and Country' lifestyle has been the highly successful economic development engine fueling the County’s growth. If the unincorporated parts of the county are paved with subdivisions, creating traffic at a standstill, then our County’s economic engine will choke, and we will become like many other places who paved their paradises and had to build more parking lots.