“Growth is coming,” said Commissioner Ethan White, as he made the motion to approve a PUD overlay for a new large housing development in Collegedale. At the commission meeting Monday night the commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to rezone 67.3 acres on Orchard Drive from Agricultural to R-I-L, (Low Density Single Family Residential.).and to rezone a one-acre lot adjacent to the larger property, both owned by Blue Mountain Company. A PUD overlay for the property that set conditions on a planned development for the combined properties was then approved.
Blue Mountain Company had requested for their property to be annexed into Collegedale. Tennessee law allows a city to annex property and establish a plan for the services it will provide, if the owner has requested annexation. The larger development created by joining the two properties is the base zoning for the PUD overlay that will allow as many as 161 lots, 118 single family detached houses and 43 townhouses to be built in the subdivision. The gross units of density will be 2.93 units per acre.
Access to the property is one of the conditions of the PUD. The additional 161 housing units are expected to add 320-350 cars daily, coming and going along Orchard Drive. The portion of the road where the entrance to the subdivision is planned is very narrow and one-way at some points. The developer will improve and widen this road and will landscape around the entrance and perimeter of the development for screening. The subdivision will be on the city sewer with the use of grinder pumps. The system will be maintained by the Homeowner’s Association, as will be the street lighting.
Mike Price with MAP Engineers said that the grading and paving of roads in the subdivision would be finished in October 2022 and that typically, 40-50 units can be built per year, so it is expected to take four years before the development will be built out.
A public hearing on the rezoning and the PUD overlay ordinance will take place at the commission meeting Tuesday, Jan. 18, followed with a second and final vote.
In another move aimed at helping developers and builders, a new zone was added to the city’s zoning ordinance. On the second vote, Collegedale commissioners approved a new zero lot line district. This will streamline the process of rezoning property for townhouses. The commissioners were told that Collegedale has been seeing a demand for this type of moderate density housing.
In other business, a contract was approved with VC3 for an IT assessment for the city. The study will establish where the city is now and what is needed as it moves into the future. The amount of $25,154 will be paid for the assessment.
A gas easement was given for the property off Apison Pike where Scooters Coffee is being built. This was in response to concerns about an existing buried pipeline.
City Manager Wayon Hines said that a community survey will begin this coming Friday. Residents have been randomly chosen to receive surveys that will eventually feed into the city’s long-term strategic plan.