Planning Commission

July 10, 2023 Monthly Meeting

The meeting was called to order. Two members of the current board have resigned their positions. They will be replaced at the board of mayor and alderman meeting on July 27th. There were five members present which was enough for a quorum. After the pledge, a couple of changes were made to the agenda. Item #3 it was noted that the bond change will increase. The bond is currently $201k and it will increase by 15%. Numbers five and six were moved to the consent agenda since they were final plat approvals. Both changes were approved, and the agenda was approved. The previous month’s minutes were also approved.

There was no discussion on these items. The bond extensions had the one change which was just not noted on the staff notes properly. All five items were approved.

(I am going to take the last two items out of order. Item #7 had very little discussion, while item number 4 took up most of the meeting.)

Item # 7 The Smile Center/GreenLID Design: Requests Site Plan approval for a proposed 5,000 square foot building. Property is referenced as Robertson County Tax Map 107I, Group B Parcel 080.02. Property is zoned C-2, General Commercial and is located at 2901 Highway 31W. Owner: BT White House Associates, LLC This property is already zoned appropriately for this building. The plan meets all requirements and they will be using the existing Tractor Supply access. A question was asked about what will happen with the old building. There was no answer. Dakota Beasley with the design firm was there to answer questions. The only question was about signage. Currently there is no proposed signage. Ceagus Clark, planning director, stated that any sign had to be 150ft from the TSC sign. TSC has aldready given money toward the sidewalk that will be going in in front of the new Smile Center. The city is waiting on the grant money from the state to get started. Approved.

(Public Hearing) Item # 4 Raymond Hirsch Parkway Commercial PUD/Kimley-Horn: Requests Recommendation to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen to rezone 22.83 acres from R-20, Low Density Residential to CPUD, Commercial Planned Unit Development. Request is further made for Preliminary Plat Approval for a mixed-use development consisting of commercial and residential uses. Property is referenced as Robertson County Tax Map 107I, Parcels 75, 76, and 77. Property is currently zoned R-20, Low Density Residential and is located at Raymond Hirsch Parkway and Highway 31W. Owner: Patricia Jones Owner: Shrihari, LLC This property has been before the planning board previously. There is some residential in here and they have made some changes for the elevation. (when this property came before planning previously, it was only townhomes) The current plan has three entries on Raymond Hirsh and the board would like to see only two. There is access on 31W as well. The proposed businesses are McDonald’s, and a gas station on 31W, and inside the property GoodWill, and a medical center of some sort. They have also purchased the property behind the Dollar General on Raymond Hirsh. In total there are 8 commercial properties and two residential properties.

The property is everything in the trees on the Google Map.

Public comments were opened. Debbie Webb signed up to speak. Her mother owns the property that is touching the proposed development. She started with the understanding that progress will keep continuing. This property has been before the board before. There is so much going on in the city right now she is wondering if this would start immediately or wait until much of the other builds are complete. There are currently open store fronts on 31W. Does this new proposal have commitments? Her mother has owned the neighboring property for many years. If this is approved, how will the city protect that property? If there is a residential area back there with children, will her mother need an extra umbrella policy? She asked if this vote tonight was for the rezoning or starting the project. Clark answered that this is for the rezoning and the project and that the owners have a construction schedule. Webb conceded that this is prime property but the project is too much too soon. There are 4 open store fronts across the street. She hopes that if it passes they will at least hold off because the city has a lot going on.

I, Nicole Taylor, spoke next. I asked if the city could put the staff notes up on the website with the agenda. We can see what is going to be discussed, but without the plan and forms, the citizens have no idea what is actually being proposed. Clark answered that it could be done. I then stated that I was for the commercial development but against the residential portion of the plan. The new BOMA ran on slowing the growth in the city. There are currently 5000 units on the books and only 1500 built.

Josh Roland, spokesperson for the developer spoke next. He gave a brief overview of the project. It is a mixed use property with some urban town homes. Along Raymond Hirsh and 31W, that is ideal space for commercial. The design uses all the linear frontage for commercial. At the corner of Raymond Hirsch and 31W would be a gas station, and directly north a fast food restaurant. The other 44k square feet would be retail. There is an abundance of parking inside the area, and they have been speaking with GoodWill about one of the spaces. They cannot get a commitment from any of these businesses until they have the zoning approved. They are asking for a change from R-20 to CPUD. (residential 20k sqft lots to Commercial Planned Urban Development) They have also been talking with medical facilities and other retail. Once the zoning is in place, they will still have permitting and title work to do. The plan is to follow on the tails of Publix with the building schedule. The residential area is tucked back in this property. It is more urban and walk-able. The town homes have alley entrances and walkways. People will be able to walk to the businesses right there in the area. They will put in buffers along the greenway.

Dolly Peay double checked that there were no solid commitments yet. Roland answered that there was intentional interest, but without the zoning no one will commit. Peay asked about the entrances to the property. Clark stated that the city would like to see two, not three on Raymond Hirsch, and two on 31W. Ultimately, TDOT would have to approve anything on 31W. The commercial space in this project is excellent and the engineers have accommodated all of the city’s requests. Roland agreed that this is a great product. Addam McCormick reiterated that it was good commercial usage. Roland went on to state that they had done a traffic study during school hours and that there were no significant issues. They will look at reducing the access points from 3 to 2 on Raymond Hirsh. Tim Murphy stated that all commercial was hypothetical at this point, so will it have to be a gas stations and a fast food restaurant? Roland replied that along 31W, those will be a gas station and a fast food restaurant. The internal builds are more flexible. Either way, they need the PUD zoning to acquire the businesses. Clark added that if this is approved, the developer CANNOT increase the density of the residential build. They are only allowed to reconfigure the commercial lots. Roland clarified that if a larger medical facility wanted two lots or more parking, that could be accommodated. That is where the flexibility lies with the commercial lots. Clark stated that CPUDs have flexibility with the commercial space. Martha Wilkinson asked if they needed to come back to planning with changes if this is approved. Clark stated that tonight was similar to final plat. Wilkinson stated that she did not like the fact that they needed to vote on the zoning and plan at the same time. There are too many ifs involved. Clark added that the process was law. Wilkinson added that she knew, but didn’t like it. McCormick reiterated that they cannot bring more residential to the plan after approval, and Roland agreed that there was no flexibility in the residential, but a little in the commercial. McCormick restated that the access points are the biggest issue. 31W is already stop and go. Roland said that the developer would be widening Raymond Hirsch. John Corbitt, mayor, added that he liked the commercial aspect, but not the residential. Given last year’s election, the timing on this project is not great. Murphy agreed. They are all comfortable with the commercial, but not the residential. Peay stated that the developer did what the city asked. They scaled back the residential and all driveways are in the back. The mixed use is what the city talked about. She added that she lives here too. McCormick asked about the traffic study. Jason Reynolds, city engineer, stated that there are little affects. However, TDOT and the engineers have not looked at the access points yet. That will likely change once the city and TDOT are involved. The entrance to the gas station is right in and right out very close to the signal on 31W. They are currently unsure as to how that will affect traffic. Peay added that TDOT has the final say. McCormick reminded the board that the rezoning is on the agenda, not the master plan. Corbitt asked that the plan be revised without the residential. Roland said that the town homes give the commercial visibility. They need the rooftops. People who live there will be able to walk to these businesses from the town homes. They can walk to the grocery store. Peay asked if these would be rentals similar to the last proposal. Roland could not promise that they would be owner occupied at that scale. Peay asked if they were making a motion on rezoning and this plan. Clark said that the time to request changes from the developer is now. Roland added that the access points will be vetted through TDOT once the property is through zoning. McCormick added that the access points will change and that should be noted in the decision. Reynolds said that the changes on access points do not need to be noted because they will be decided in the design phase. Murphy again said the issue is the residential. Peay stated the issues are the access points. Corbitt agreed with Murphy that the residential is the issue. Clark again added that TDOT will have the final say on access points. McCormick added that access points are his issue. Peay then asked how to phrase the motion. McCormick said that they can approve with reduction in access points as part of approval. Peay motioned to approve rezoning. Clark added that BOMA may still have concerns with the project and that this board is simply making a recommendation to the BOMA. McCormick asked if, as chairman, he could second the motion because there was not a second. McCormick seconded. They had raise of hands as a vote. Peay and McCormick yes, Corbitt, Murphy, Wilkinson-no. The rezoning did not pass. Roland then asked if he could still ask questions. He asked if they could reduce the residential from 70 to maybe 55. Could they be duplexes? McCormick said they could negotiate with BOMA since they could still take it before that board. Gerald Herman, city administrator, reiterated that the planning board makes recommendations to the BOMA. Murphy added that the residential needs to be reduced. Roland asked if they could do duplexes or single family. Corbitt let him know that unless the units are single family, it would be an uphill battle with the BOMA. Murphy said duplex is a dirty word. Peay stated that they should stick with the town homes. Murphy asked if it was a big expense to redo the plans. Roland did state that there would be expense to it. Herman said they can save money and take this plan straight to BOMA. Roland said that didn’t sound like a good idea. McCormick said they could make changes and bring it back next month. Clark added that they could not defer it since a vote was already made. The board voted to rescind the vote and defer until next month.

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