Planning Meeting 4-11-2022

Public Hearing on New Hall Road Property-Lennar Homes

The planning meeting was held at the city hall last night. There were roughly 45 people in attendance not including the builder’s people and police officers. Items one and two were bond issues. Concord Springs asked for a bond reduction, and Summerlin Phase 5 asked for a bond extension. Both of these issues were approved.

Item #3- Willow Grove Phase 1 asked for final plat approval for the first 52 of 89 homes. There was some discussion on the minor revisions that had been done to the plans. Also, a payment was made toward a light at Palmer’s Chapel and Tyree Springs. That item was also approved. (this is the smaller of the two developments on Tyree Springs)

Item #4- Beech Grove Development asked for FMDP (final master development plan) approval. The discussion about this mixed use development included issues such as drainage that had been addressed, changes in elevation, individual trash service for the town homes, and the dumpster design for the commercial space. Some of the issues would need to be handled in the construction phase of approval, but the commercial building will be done at the same time as the town homes. This was also approved.

Item #5 Requests recommendation to BOMA for the campground. This was supposed to be a public hearing item. It was deferred from March pending more research. The board missed putting this on the sign up list, however it was opened for public response. No one spoke. Ceagus Clark had looked into standards regarding campgrounds in other states and areas. Six months is standard for RV camping in many state parks and local camp sites. The city can’t stipulate no tent camping, but they can ask that it be limited to 14 days. The city was also concerned about pads for RV’s. That issue is handled in the design standard regulations. This item was also approved.

Item #6 Request to amend the Subdivision Regulations Article III, Section 3-101.2, Surety Instrument. This issue was also public, no one spoke. The city charges a developer a bond before construction begins in order to insure that the costs of changes will be paid even if the developer does not finish the work. This is an item that the planning board is responsible for and can change without the ok of the BOMA. Given inflation the way it is, they are raising the bond from 6% to 15%. That was approved.

Item #7 Requests recommendation to the BOMA to rezone 412 acres on New Hall Road from R-20 to SRPUD. The builder was allowed to speak first on this item. Dwight K from Kiser Design walked us through the history of the property. A history was handed to me from a citizen who lives on New Hall as well. In 2004/05 it was purchased to be a golf course. That was approved by the county in 2005. In 2006 it was annexed into the city of White House. Work was suspended in 2007 due to financial issues. (2008/09 housing bubble) In 2014 Fifth/Third Bank consolidated the parcels and in 2015 it was purchased by Walton Group. Kiser put together that master plan, and in 2016 White House approved that plan including 949 homes with 181 being town homes. That sat dormant until 2021 when Walton teamed up with Lennar Homes. They have updated the plan. They are looking for 958 single family homes and no town homes. The final plan was not submitted due to Covid changing many time lines. The new plans should minimize the earth work needed. There are five zones in the new plan. There are hiking trails and passive recreation areas. They have included three recreation amenities including a pool and court games. There is open space, parks, green space, and a senior section of housing. The home plans were passed around, square footage is between 1900 and 3500 square feet. A section of the homes will have alley loaded driveways, there will be front and side loaded homes, and this subdivision will connect New Hall to Swift Road.

The public hearing was opened after that. Fourteen people signed up to speak.

• John C- He lives on New Hall-The disruptive nature of the developments is out of control. It’s turning into Brentwood. What is the benefit to those who live here? It just brings traffic, noise, and light pollution.

• Phillip K.- You already can’t get out of your driveway on New Hall. This would add 1800 cars. How can the sewer and the schools handle it? People are leaving the area because of this growth.

• Jared S.- People that live by him are concerned about roads and schools. The roads are a safety issue. There was just a fatality on 76. The intersections at New Hall and 31 or 76 are terrible. This development will exacerbate the problem. TDOT is unresponsive. 2000 more cars on roads already over run is terrible. It’s not sustainable growth.

• Stacey V.- Development is coming, but do some more research and make the lots larger. PUDs end up in rentals. We already have an infrastructure problem. The other homes in the area are 1+ acre lots. Keep it the same.

• Denny G.-He has called TDOT as well. They got new stop signs at New Hall and Cross Plains Road. (hwy 76) His granddaughter was t-boned at the New Hall/76 intersection. He’s not against growth, but concerned about traffic, safety is a big issue.

• Roger D.- There will be two entrances to the subdivision on either side of his property. He will end up with a retention pond beside his house. Traffic is terrible. People are using New Hall to avoid the main roads during high traffic times. He’d like to see the golf course put in. There is also a private school on New Hall that people need to be concerned about students driving and traffic. Red lights need to be installed at each end of New Hall before construction should begin.

• David H.- His property touches Burrus Ridge. He can’t get the county to maintain the road that is out there. The fire departments can’t get to New Hall as it is. Can the EMS handle this growth?

• Paul F.- He has friends with EMS and they say it is already difficult around here. Our infrastructure is not prepared. The homes will be built before the infrastructure is finished. We need funds for schools, roads, and EMS. Pump the brakes on the growth. Many of his neighbors are leaving because of it.

• Douglas B.- Traffic on New Hall is awful. People are throwing trash in his fields. Build the type of houses people are proud of and want to take care of. The run off from the new pavement will be an issue. Build fewer houses and make them beautiful so we can all enjoy it.

• Jennifer B.-Concurs will all previous speakers. There is no shoulder on New Hall. This project is too large. They want to stay out on New Hall, do this project differently.

• Roger R.- He purchased two lots when it was the golf course. New Hall needs lights on either end. His son-in-law was hit on 76/New Hall and the other driver died. Traffic is terrible.

• Paul R.- Moved here from NY to get away from these types of developments. Keep the lots at least 1+ acre. Will our utilities go up? He wants to retire here in a small town. This is too much too quickly.

• Stephanie M- Moved here to be in a small town. How many houses are too many? Do we have the EMS for this? The current residents are not going to take kindly to those living in another PUD. No one wants another PUD. We don’t need this density.

• Rebecca J.- Addressed the builders stating they only come in and take from the communities, they don’t give back. Our traffic and our schools are an issue. We can’t afford to pay for the things that the developers don’t. All of the green space they are discussing is “ecological garbage.” (she’s a botanist) There should be public comments at all meetings.

Kevin S. with Lennar Homes did speak to the traffic issues. TDOT and the county have been involved in these discussions. He wants to improve the traffic, and let his traffic engineer speak.

Robert M from CESO is the traffic engineer that conducted the traffic study. The intersection at 76 and New Hall failed. It failed in a “no build” scenario. That means that even without the Burrus Ridge subdivision, that is a failed intersection according to the traffic study. The study conducted by CESO is over 500 pages long. The improvements they recommend are here in this photo.

The board wants to know at what point in the build would these happen? When would the traffic lights go in? Robert (CESO) stated that widening of the road and at least one signal would be done at the beginning of the build. Wendy D. from Lennar homes stated that they would also need to upgrade the sewer lines before the build. As it stands, the capacity is 700 homes. The line size will need to increase for the extra 200+ homes. She did state that SRPUD is in the city’s comprehensive plan.

Tim Murphy from the board, believes that improvements need to be made before we add more houses. Bob Dorris wants to see more of the traffic study. Adam McCormick wants to know if the drainage issues have been addressed. Clif Hutson wants improvements in writing. Will the developer throwing money at it move us up the list with the TDOT?

Wendy with Lennar at that point asked for a deferral. (it was 8:45pm) She stated that they would meet with the county and then summarize improvements. Martha Wilkinson (board member) recommended they have a community meeting and discuss the concerns with the home owners. Adam McCormick stated that there are already too many homes approved. Tim Murphy told the developer that they might want to look at another plan. It will be hard to sell another PUD here.

The request to defer was approved.