For the time being, the Bell Farms property in Collegedale will remain in the Agricultural zone. At the Monday night meeting the Collegedale commissioners denied a zoning change that had been requested by the owner Janice Bell and developers Aaron Smith and Alan Jones to change the designation from AG, Urban Agricultural and C-2 Shopping Center Commercial to R-1-H, High Density Single Family Residential. The first and final reading of the ordinance for rezoning brought many residents of Collegedale to the meeting in opposition.
The property is approximately 25.6 acres and is currently divided into two parcels. Half is already within the boundaries of the city of Collegedale and the other is in unincorporated Hamilton County. The rezoning request required first that Collegedale annex the property that was outside of the city limits. If annexation of the property was approved, the request was to merge the two properties and rezone them. Then developers proposed to add a PUD overlay (Planned Unit Development) for the entire Bell Farms property.
The new zoning and the PUD would allow 111 single family homes to built there, spaced 10-feet apart. The average price of a home is expected to be from the high $300,000 to low $400,000 upward to $600,000, but the costs of construction continue to rise, answered the developer. The density would be 3.5 lots per acre. The Collegedale Planning Commission recommended approval with certain conditions, including a 25-foot buffer of trees planted on all sides of the development, a 9-acre natural area at the entrance of the development that would have a detention pond, trees, park benches and a playground. Three lane entrance with a left and right lane to exit and lane one to enter would be another condition.
“How does this development become a benefit for Collegedale?” asked Mayor Morty Lloyd. It will bring over 100 new families to Collegedale, answered one of the developers, and it might bring a new restaurant to the city that is not fast food, based on the number of new houses. He also said that if the PUD was approved, that would give the city more control over what was built. No changes could be made without approval from the city.
At the public meeting regarding the farm property, residents were unanimously opposed to the development. Many people who live on White Oak Valley Circle that adjoins the farm spoke to the commissioners. Their concerns included the loss of wildlife and habitat that will never again return. Many of them said there is already a problem with stormwater runoff and flooding in the area and clearing vegetation and increasing impervious surfaces would only make it worse.
This development is not the brand and vision that Collegedale has created for itself, said another resident with “wall to wall houses and people.” Several speakers said the large number of houses planned was to maximize profits for the owner and developer and to increase the tax base for the city. “The leadership has to decide on your brand,” said the speaker.
Collegedale has more stringent requirements than Hamilton County does, such as sidewalks and street lighting, said another resident of White Oak Valley Circle. So why does the developer want to be annexed by Collegedale? she asked. “Because they want access to our sewers,” said Commissioner Tanya Sadler. Without that access the alternative would be to build an on-site treatment system, said City Manager Wayon Hines. With annexation, the development would also get city services such as fire and police protection, garbage pick-up and road maintenance.
Before the vote, Vice Mayor Tim Johnson said that the commission does not make decisions based on taxes, but about how something will impact the city in the future. He said that most of the money used for services comes from revenue coming from businesses.
“I’d like to have the land in Collegedale," said Commissioner Katie Lamb, "but the density bothers me. I don’t want somebody to be able to look in my windows and smell what I am cooking.” She suggested for the developers to think about how many houses they can eliminate. Commissioners Tonya Sadler and Debbie Baker agreed.
The question before the commission on Monday night was annexation, which passed on a vote of four to one against, with Vice Mayor Johnson voting in opposition. But with the annexation, the commissioners still retain the ability to discuss the number of homes. The vote to rezone the property failed with the vice mayor, and Commissioners Lamb and Sadler voting no.
In other business, the commissioners approved the request from Public Works Director Eric Sines to buy street scanning services from a company that will scan all the city’s streets and digitally retain all the information that can be accessed to develop a plan to prioritize and identify what the best method would be to maintain the roads. The contract is for a three-year period and the $57,000 cost will be divided equally each of the years. The public works department will also be getting two vehicles. Mr. Sines has found a used truck for $50,000 and a used bucket truck for $25,000.
The commissioners also approved amending the Collegedale’s building codes to match what is required by the state of Tennessee. Another vote approved for Collegedale to continue participating in the Small Cities Coalition of six cities in Hamilton County, represented by a government relations and communications strategist professional.