Planning Commission

Meeting, April 8th, 2024

Full disclosure: I was unable to attend this meeting due to the wrestling banquet. There were a couple of spots on the video that were impossible to hear, and also there was some discussion where I cannot identify the speaker as they were in the audience.

The only member of the board not in attendance was Daniel Whited. Item #1 was removed from the agenda. Last month’s meeting minutes were approved and the agenda was adopted. All citizens signed up for public comment were signed up for #5.

Item # 2 Bridle Creek: Request Final Plat for 70 single family lots. Property is referenced as Sumner County Tax Map 96, Parcel 20.00 and is zoned R-15, Medium Density Residential. Property is located at Thoroughbred Way and Grayson Lane. Owner: Jab Bldrs., LLC.

This is the final phase of the Bridle Creek development. There are no changes from the plat to the master plan. The deed restrictions are still in place on this development. It was started in 2004. The majority of the homes will have two car garages, and this is the last section of this development. The state requires that they come back before the board. This is not adding “new” development, these homes have been on the plan for years. Approved

Item # 3 WaWa Gas Station: Request Site Plan Approval for a 5,915 square foot commercial building with fuel canopy. Property is referenced as Robertson County Tax Map 106, Parcels 114 and 115. Property is Zoned C-2, General Commercial and is located at 1007 and 1009 Highway 76. Owner: OV 17 Hwy 76 E., LLC

The Days Inn will be demolished and the Mexican restaurant next to it will be allowed to stay open for another year. It will take 1.5 years to build this out. It is a 5900 square foot convenience store known for their food. They are located mostly on the east coast. They are in discussions with TDOT regarding 76, lanes, and signal timing adjustments. The most important part of this is that the Days Inn is finally coming down. Wawa’s representative stated that they have begun building in Murfreesboro and Clarksville and will be completed by the end of 2024 or early 2025. When asked about the time line on this one, he stated that it is currently under contract, but needs board approval to proceed. The board asked if there was anything that would hold this up. Planning director Clark stated that everything is ready to go, it is simply waiting on board approval. Approved.

Public Hearing- No one spoke

Item # 4 Matt Arnett: Requests Recommendation to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for approval to annex 1.0 acres. Request is further made to rezone from Sumner County Residential to C-2, General Commercial. Property is referenced as Sumner County Tax Map 97, Parcel 41.00. Property is located at 170 Old Highway 31W.

Mr. Arnett has purchased the property next to his current property. His intent is to have both properties zoned the same. Jennifer Collado asked about the residential area in the “island” between Hwy 31 and Old Hwy 31. Arnett stated that he has no intentions of selling these. One of the spaces is used for offices, and the new property has renters. He has no intention of asking them to leave. Across the road is undeveloped commercial property, and as a general contractor, he uses his space for his business. At this time, he has no plans for the properties other than their current use. Approved

Public Hearing Item-8 Citizens Spoke to This

# 5 Bill Moss Road/Kimley Horn: Requests Recommendation to the Board of Mayor and Aldermen for approval to annex 85.12 acres. Request is further made to amend the Comprehensive Plan and approval of Preliminary Development Plan and to rezone from Agricultural to NCRPUD, Neighborhood Center Residential Planned Unit Development. Proposed use is for 262 single family homes, and 103 townhome units. Property is referenced as Robertson County Tax Map 95, Parcel 54.00. Property is located at Bill Moss Road. Owner: Wolfe Mountain, LLC. c/o Kimberly C. Wolfe

The representative was allowed to present the project before the public comments were made. Josh Rollin of Kimley Horn and a representative from LGI were both there. Rollin presented the project to the board. Horn is working with LGI throughout Nashville. They build for all types of families utilizing space to create various home sizes and lot sizes. All of their projects have amenities built in. White House has seen a lot of development lately, and quality development. Tim Murphy asked if LGI was in WH currently. LGI is building Springbrook. Rollin continued. This project is titled Harvest Park. It is currently agricultural and the specifics of the plan showcase the open spaces, amenities, and the parks. This is 85 acres on the north side of Bill Moss Road.

It is in Robertson County and is currently zoned ag. This is the first request to change the zoning. There are other sizable communities taking shape near here and those projects set a precedent for allowing this one. This particular concept will meet different market segments. They are looking for an NCRPUD for mixed use which will allow for more amenities. This community would also allow for other residents to utilize their outdoor public spaces, such as the walking trails. Bill Moss is an arterial, and there will be upgrades necessary to the water and sewer. However, they have completed a traffic study, and their project would not significantly impact any of the other intersections. Hwy 76 and Pleasant Grove Road is already a D, but they would be able to contribute to fixing that. They understand they will be adding some stress. There are a total of 365 units. That is roughly 4/acre. The lots for the single family homes will be 40 and 50 feet. The 103 town homes will be closer to Bill Moss. The stream will stay and there will be parks in each smaller neighborhood. There will be trails and paths, and open spaces. The open space is roughly 30% with 4-6 units per acre. The playgrounds do not count as open space. There is a dog park, bocce ball and pickleball courts, zoned playgrounds, and a community garden. There are five parking spaces near the courts, and plenty of street parking. Collado asked about the parking. He stated there would be community access, but five parking spots doesn’t seem to fit that profile. Rollin added that with street parking there were closer to 30-40 parking spots. When asked about community access, Rollin replied that the development was not gated. Collado added that if they were trying to attract city residents to use the area, the community garden should be larger and the walking trail should border the development. From what she sees, it is not for the rest of the community. Rollin continued describing the homes. There are ranch and two story homes in the plan. The town homes will have one car garages on the 20ft lots and two car on the end lots that are 28 feet. The streets are private, but fire is still able to get through all of them. It is a nice project and they request approval. Citizens then spoke up. (I did not see the sign up sheet so all spellings of all names are my best attempt)

Hugh Thomas (lives on Bill Moss)- He requests that they not add another development. He does not feel this is the best use of that property. This will make Bill Moss less safe and will put more stress on 76 and Pleasant Grove. He is not against more residences, just does not want to see a project like this one.

Davis Taylor (lives on Bill Moss)- He has lived on Bill Moss for 30 years. His property borders this proposal on two sides, He has an easement that has not been addressed. In fact, he would not have known about this meeting except for the sign next to his driveway. He feels this in not a good development for the city. All of the properties around it are in the county. The majority of the homes are 1+ acres. He’s not against growth, this just isn’t a good fit.

Morgan Holloway (lives in WH)- The city is already overwhelmed trying to play catch up with the infrastructure. The city needs to focus on that before adding more homes. The city is working on fixing the issues, and should continue to look at infrastructure before adding anything new.

(Could not catch this woman’s name)- She agreed with the previous speakers on the Bill Moss issue. There are other things in the city that need to be taken care of before more houses are added. She’s from California, and for her this is too small of an area for this project. The city doesn’t have enough shops, restaurants, or roads for another project. The school traffic on 76 is unbearable. She thinks they need to find another area.

Amy Padgett (lives on Boyles Road)-No one is mentioning the schools. They were full before the building began, and are currently more than full. There are no plans to build another school for WH on the Robertson County side. They haven’t even accounted for the houses that are on the books now. As far as the roads go, The Parks had a 93 page traffic study showing the roads out there were an F. Even after adding turn lanes, it was still an F. Everyone knows that now, but that was in 2017. Changes are coming to fix the problems, but now it will be at the tax payers’ expense. You can’t expect the tax payers to fix the problems and then add to it. If you really have to have this project, at least wait until the light is in on Pleasant Grove. Also, Bill Moss is so narrow that it will need to be improved. Calista and Pleasant Grove are already over run.

Randy Lawyer (lives on Bill Moss)-Lawyer developed the 36 acres next to this property. His own home sits on 18 acres. He is a local realtor and had issues with the road, water, and sewers out there. The cost ended up higher than expected with the 7 other properties he sold. There are drainage issues and flooding on Bill Moss. The county just fixed a few of the issues. Where there is traffic problems on 76, Bill Moss backs up. Trucks get stuck on Bill Moss and the road, as is, is not sustainable. There will be 428 homes on Jackson Farms, and another 323 on Calista Farms, and 45 town homes on Pleasant Grove. None of these developments were included in the proposed traffic study. Lawyer, and his neighbors all ask for this to be denied.

Doug Prentice (lives on Bill Moss)- The road has too much slope for a project such as this and it is bad in places. There are drainage issues. The construction trucks on Bill Moss working on Jackson Farms are breaking Bill Moss. There are over 400 homes being built on Jackson Farms. The density is too much. The streets are too narrow.

David Lee (lives to the east of this property)- Lee’s property touches this one and Davis Taylor’s. The density is out of place for the location. He is concerned about people living in these homes and having access to his livestock. The density is too high for this property. He would not mind residences, but not this high density development. He asks that they find another use for this property. Also, if you look at the open space, it is left because the property is steep and it will be tough to use it. He’s not opposed to growth, but is opposed to this project.

Public comment was closed and Rollins addressed Mr. Thomas’s property was addressed. The easement wasn’t ignored, it is addressed in the plans. They have allowed for his driveway as the new drive follows the easement. The developer is aware of the issue. Collado the continued. This type of growth is a concern. The city is still fixing issues from the previous administraion’’s approval of many units. This plan has great ideas, but there is just no place for them in White House at this time. Dolly Peay added that this is just too dense. This is too many houses for an area that already has issues with the road. Adding to the problem is not a good idea. Also, when developers say “contribute,” that just isn’t enough. The city has heard that before. This is just too dense and the timing isn’t right. Mayor Corbitt added that the timing is the biggest issue. We still have several thousand on the books that aren’t built yet. The city needs to absorb that first. City Administrator Herman added that Calista and Pleasant Grove are already known issues to the city that are being addressed. This project would require Bill Moss to also be widened. The city cannot handle another project. It looks nice, but that density shouldn’t be in farmland. Tim Murphy asked how long ago did they start on this project. Rollins answered that they have been working on it for the last 3-4 months. Murphy asked him if he had any idea that he would be getting these responses. Rollins said that it looked like things might have paused somewhat, but looking at all the building in the city, they thought it was a good addition. Murphy stated that three years ago it might have been good. Rollins said that LGI builds a nice product and they want to build here because WH is a good place. Murphy added that this is a good place and the people who live here want it to stay that way and don’t want to add more to it. Clark said that he had warned the developer in the pre-application meeting, but that Kimley Horn had to do their due diligence for their client. Murphy told Rollins that he’s done a good job, but he’s “peeing into the wind a little” here. Collado added that one of the citizens mentioned the schools. That is a very valid concern and no houses should be added until the schools are addressed. Rollins said that what he’s hearing is the city wants larger lots and lower density. One of the members of the audience added that Bill Moss can’t be widened from Calista to Pleasant Grove because of the entrance to Holly Tree. Corbitt added that they are already trying to deal with 76 with the state. McCormick said that it’s all about the timing. Linda Silver then added that they plan does not fit the area at all. There is so much going on over there already. The city would struggle with the infrastructure, and we don’t have the funds. Herman asked what the county would allow. Clark said that it’s much lower density since it needs septic. Jason Reynolds, city engineer, said that the county looks at how close a property is to an urban center to decide on lot sizes. The lots could be 1 or 2 acres. Herman said that would then be 40-50 homes. The project was Denied on all three requests.

Thank you for your patience on this one, and I apologize if I spelled your name incorrectly.

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