Here’s the thing about Farragut Municipal Planning Commission meetings (and perhaps all MPC meetings everywhere): Hidden in the brain-numbing minutia of parcel numbers, zoning codes and tax plots are the skeletal maps for what our community will look like in the future.
Farragut is lucky. Not only are the members of the MPC good ole Farragut folks (even the developers), the town staff often takes as strong a “watchdog” approach as the homeowners do. Businesses and developers learn patience when dealing with Farragut. Luckily for the town, the effort is still worth it.
The June MPC agenda contained five items, all for discussion and public hearing only. One was postponed and the other four took more than two hours. Of the most interest to those who came to be heard was the discussion on rezoning five parcels of land on Union Road from “A” (Agricultural) to R-1/OSR.
You know what “A” (Agricultural) is, and, of all the zoning alphabet soup, it is one of the few that is what it says. “R-1” is Rural Single Family Residential and is pretty self-explanatory. “OSR” is an overlay zone that can only be applied to R-1 and means “Open Space Residential.”
Asleep yet?
What all these mean to the Farragut citizens, mainly those from Saddle Ridge subdivision off Union Road, is that developers, represented by engineer David Robinette, president of Site Incorporated., want the land that is now known as Ivey Farm to become a subdivision with approximately 250 lots that will be developed in four phases.
The bugaboo in the scenario is Union Road. Improvements have been bantered around, budgeted and steps taken, including working with TDOT, a pacesetter for turtles, since at least 2014. Big improvements are coming for Union Road from South Hobbs Road to Everett Road, as well as South Hobbs Road from Kingston Pike to Union Road. The plans call for the road to be wider with a walking trail and sidewalk and a new bridge over Little Turkey Creek.
Residents want the MPC to wait for the road to be improved before moving forward with any rezoning. Robinette says the developers want to see if there is a middle ground. “We would rather work out a plan than just say you can’t develop it until Union Road is finished,” he said.
In the end, Robinette and Site Incorporated are to come up with their plan and present it to the Farragut town staff at the July 5 MPC Staff/Developer meeting.
Better keep this zoning cheat-sheet handy.