Williamson County, TN Ordinances (2026)

There are no marijuana dispensaries in Williamson County because Tennessee authorizes none. Selling marijuana is a felony statewide, and the state licenses no recreational or medical…

Growing marijuana at home is illegal in Williamson County. Tennessee has no medical or recreational marijuana program, and cultivating cannabis plants is manufacturing a controlled…

Williamson County's Zoning Ordinance protects parcels listed on the National Register of Historic Places along with dry-laid stone walls, cemeteries, archaeological sites, and vestiges…

Williamson County requires a Family or Group Child Care Home to hold a state license, most often from the Tennessee Department of Human Services, before operating. Outdoor play areas…

Williamson County requires a Building Permit before anyone locates, erects, or begins construction, reconstruction, extension, conversion, or structural alteration of any building or…

Williamson County's zoning ordinance treats a veterinary clinic, animal hospital, and pet-grooming operation as one regulated use type, defined at Section 23.04, that must sit in a…

Running a family child care home in unincorporated Williamson County requires a state license, a minimum one-acre lot, and a fenced, setback play area. The Zoning Ordinance treats it…

A home occupation in unincorporated Williamson County gets one permanent sign under Table 18.07-1: a ground sign, or a wall sign substituted for it. Projecting, entrance and auxiliary…

Williamson County allows up to two home occupations per single-family dwelling, each requiring a Business License once approved. The occupation must stay entirely inside the dwelling…

Tennessee's Food Freedom Act lets you make and sell most homemade foods from a Williamson County kitchen with no license, no inspection, and no sales cap. Products go directly to the…

A food truck operating on private property in Williamson County needs a Temporary Use Permit, good for six months per calendar year, plus Minor Site Plan review every time the permit…

Williamson County confines food trucks on private property to sites at least 200 feet from any existing eating-and-drinking establishment and 300 feet from any existing residence, and…

Williamson County's Zoning Ordinance, Section 22.03, defines six categories of violations for property in the unincorporated county: building or developing without required permits…

Anyone who suspects a zoning violation on unincorporated Williamson County land can file a complaint with the Community Development Department office under Section 22.05(B) of the…

Williamson County protects farming through a dedicated Voluntary Agricultural District (A) rather than a nuisance-immunity statute. Section 10.02(A) states the district's purpose is to…

Every lot in a Williamson County subdivision with a required HOA must fund common-area upkeep on a pro-rata basis, and that obligation survives the association itself: if the HOA…

Williamson County may, but is not required to, step in when an HOA fails to maintain required open space or common areas, suing for an injunction or other civil remedy and billing the…

Williamson County does not referee disputes between a homeowner and their HOA board, but it holds a narrow civil-enforcement backstop under Zoning Ordinance Sec. 16.06(E): if an…

Any unincorporated Williamson County subdivision of two or more lots with required common open space must form a homeowners' or property owners' association before any lot is sold…

Williamson County sets numeric dBA ceilings on ordinary ambient noise, separate from amplified sound equipment, for uses like industrial operations, animal care facilities, and eating…

Williamson County caps amplified sound from PA systems, speakers, and other sound production devices tied to bars, restaurants, entertainment venues, and special events. Section…

Continuous mechanical noise, such as rooftop condensers, compressors and chillers on covered commercial, industrial or institutional uses, is capped by Williamson County's Zoning…

Bars, taverns and other Eating and Drinking Establishments in unincorporated Williamson County must keep amplified sound within numeric decibel caps under the Zoning Ordinance's noise…

Williamson County lets homeowners attach solar panels to a house or accessory structure without a Zoning Certificate, so long as the panels do not exceed the height limit set for that…

Commercial, industrial, retail, office and institutional buildings in unincorporated Williamson County must provide off-street loading spaces before a Zoning Certificate issues…

Williamson County sets a minimum five-foot setback, or the wall's full height if greater, for any retaining wall on private property, and bars construction inside the right-of-way…

Unincorporated Williamson County treats a fence as a regulated structure: Section 8.01(B) of the Zoning Ordinance bars erecting, altering, or relocating any building or structure until…

Williamson County bans flashing or revolving lights on any sign in every zoning district and caps how often an electronic message can change. Section 18.05 makes a sign with lights…

Political preference signs are treated as temporary, non-commercial signs under Zoning Ordinance Section 18.08(B). A residential lot may post up to five such signs at once within a…

Garage sale signs count as temporary, non-commercial residential signs under Section 18.08(B) of the Zoning Ordinance. A residential lot may display up to five such signs at once, with…

New construction and substantial improvements in a Williamson County AE flood zone must have the lowest floor, including any basement, built at least one foot above the Base Flood…

Williamson County runs a Phase II MS4 stormwater program under a TDEC permit, protecting the Harpeth River watershed. Every development must detain excess runoff on-site so…

Williamson County is landlocked in Middle Tennessee, so coastal rules do not apply. Development near its streams and drainageways is instead governed by open-space buffers, floodplain…

Williamson County requires erosion plans for significant earthwork and forbids development from sending more stormwater onto downstream neighbors. Post-development flows cannot exceed…

Any development in a Williamson County Area of Special Flood Hazard needs a development permit before work starts, under Zoning Ordinance Article 19. The rule reaches only the…

Williamson County requires developments to plant a minimum density of canopy trees and shrubs along the public street frontage under Section 15.05's streetscape landscaping standard…

Williamson County keeps no heritage or landmark specimen-tree registry. Protection is canopy-based, but conservation subdivisions in the rural TCA-1 district must preserve large…

Williamson County allows recreational backyard fires and fire pits in this affluent Nashville suburb. A contained fire with a spark screen needs no state burn permit, but drought burn…

Williamson County confines fireworks sales stands to a narrow window: a Temporary Use Permit is good for only 15 days in any six-month period, timed to New Year's and the Fourth of…

Outdoor burning in Williamson County requires a Tennessee Division of Forestry permit from October 15 to May 15 for leaf and debris piles. Burning household garbage, tires, and treated…

An above-ground pool holding more than 30 inches of water needs a permit in unincorporated Williamson County. The pool wall can replace a fence only if it stands four feet above grade…

Williamson County requires every swimming pool in the unincorporated county to be enclosed by a fence at least four feet high with self-closing, self-latching gates that swing away…

Williamson County allows one accessory dwelling unit per parcel, built as an interior apartment or as a separate or converted accessory structure such as a garage, carriage house or…

Williamson County sizes sheds and other accessory structures by lot area. On parcels of one acre or less, a shed must sit in the rear yard, set back at least 15 feet from the side and…

Tennessee sets a statewide child curfew by statute (Tenn. Code Ann. §39-17-1702): minors 17 to 18 must be off public places 11 PM to 6 AM on weeknights and midnight to 6 AM on…

Non-residential development in unincorporated Williamson County must aim outdoor light fixtures downward and shield anything over 1,000 lumens with a full cut-off lens or hood. The…

Exterior lighting on covered development in unincorporated Williamson County cannot shine directly into a neighbor's yard or windows, and illumination measured at any property line is…

Williamson County has no bulk curbside pickup. Residents self-haul large items to a convenience center, up to three cubic yards per visit, or to the county landfill. Franklin and…

Recycling in Williamson County is voluntary, not mandatory. Tennessee has no statewide residential recycling law. Residents drop off metal, cans, glass, paper, cardboard, plastic…

Williamson County runs no curbside trash service. Unincorporated residents haul household waste free to one of the county's convenience centers, or hire a private subscription hauler…

Williamson County's Zoning Ordinance bars clearing land on a proposed development site until the project is approved, and Section 13.07 requires a licensed professional's tree…

Williamson County's landscaping ordinance requires at least 40 percent of all required landscaping or bufferyard vegetation to be native and/or drought-tolerant, drawn from a list the…

Williamson County runs no rental registration or landlord licensing. There is no county registry, annual rental permit, or mandatory rental inspection, so a landlord owes the county no…

Street fairs, festivals, carnivals and similar events on private property in Williamson County need Special Use approval as a Special Event - Extensive Impact under the Zoning…

Most residential zoning districts in unincorporated Williamson County cap building height at 3.0 stories. Table 10.02-4 sets that limit for the Rural Preservation District 1 (RP-1)…

Williamson County's zoning ordinance sets minimum front, side, and rear yard setbacks that vary by zoning district and by subdivision type. In the Agricultural, Rural Preservation…

Williamson County caps yard sales at three consecutive days within any 90-day period and no more than four sales per calendar year on a property. The limit sits in the Zoning…

Williamson County zoning bars adult-oriented establishments within 1,000 feet of day cares, schools, parks, religious institutions and residential uses, measured in a straight line…