.png)
I come from a rural Kentucky town 45 minutes north of Nashville. A place where the whole town will know your drama within 30 minutes. Small enough to feel connected to your community. A place where a simple trip to Walmart would take hours because you would get stopped and start talking. One of those towns where it seems that everybody knows everybody, everybody calls you friend, and you don’t need an invitation to kick off your shoes and come on in. All this said, Simpson County is now the 6th fastest growing county by population in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. Early predictions have us potentially doubling in population over the next 30 years. Depending on the growth of Nashville, we could see a population that grows even more than these already high estimates. So how do we accommodate this growth in a way that is sustainable for both the new and old residents?
I come from a farming background. My family has been farming in Simpson County and neighboring areas for more than two centuries. We have weathered many crises as a family, but no bigger threat exists to us today than the onslaught of poor land use. Fields that once grew crops are now being divided in 5 acre plots for houses to be built on. Good quality farmland lost. Around 74% of Simpson County is still considered arable land. While our number is still high and relatively steady, neighboring communities such as Robertson and Sumner County in Tennessee have seen a drastic change over the last ten years. Their percentage of arable land has decreased substantially over the last 20 years due to suburbanization and the development of the exurbs. Population growth in and around Nashville has skyrocketed over the last few years, with Nashville being designated the “it city.” What Simpson County must do is look to these neighboring communities and figure out if this is what we should become. Simpson County needs to enact a plan that will accommodate the new and old citizens, allowing the county to grow and become a flourishing community for many to enjoy, but also being sustainable enough to the current residents.
A way to help accommodate this new growth is to encourage denser development projects within Simpson County. While everyone is entitled to their preferences when purchasing a house, building a house on acreage is not sustainable for the long-term if we want Simpson County to retain its agricultural nature. Our new developments must be denser. Not only will this help preserve our farmland, but it will also save us money and resources in the long term. These developments will allow us to accommodate more families while using less land. Density is not necessarily a bad thing for a community. It keeps a community vibrant and interactive. These developments bring in, on average, 10 times more tax revenue than a less compact residential area. Some people think that this type of development means apartments, but a development of this nature can be so much more than that.
One area I look to in Franklin is the square. While the square has some businesses that occupy storefronts, we can all admit that the square is not what it once was. The square used to be the hub of commerce for our community, but it has since dwindled. Building denser developments in that area would be able to attract business and restore our square to a new glory. Some may argue that we do not have the room to accommodate this growth, but we have plenty of vacant lots that could be occupied with housing developments. Investors, given the chance, would more than likely be willing to add housing near that area, which would in turn add businesses to the community. We can change the entire atmosphere of our downtown with very simple and attainable changes. Additionally, repurposing the vacant lots seen around Franklin would help us conserve farmland in the county.
Franklin is undeniably growing whether you like it or not. Turning a blind eye to it will not prevent it from happening, but it is irresponsible of us to not plan the future of our community. I believe that community input is an important part of the process in order to help accommodate our new neighbors. The Franklin I believe in and grew up in would not turn a blind eye to someone who would like to move to our community. The Franklin I believe in would welcome these people into our community. Simpson County Judge Executive Mason Barnes once told me “The small-town aspect of Franklin is not based on the size of population, but rather the way our community feels in your heart.” That is what makes Franklin the place it is. We should be proud that people are wanting to move to Franklin, because it shows that we are a community they want to be a part of. We are a vibrant community full of amazing people. While saying this, our approach to our new growth needs to have strict regulation in place in order to protect our current residents and our farmers. We must take the necessary steps to ensure that we can preserve as much of our farmland as possible. Agriculture is the single most important aspect of our community, and we are unnecessarily using one of our most finite resources, arable land. I love Franklin-Simpson and I am proud that other people want to live in my community.
Seth Pinson is a McConnell Scholar in the class of 2027. He is studying political science and economics at the University of Louisville.