The Collegedale Commissioners were “between a rock and a hard place,” said Commissioner Tim Johnson. The only choices that they had Monday night were to allow a large new development of 102 single-family homes or 220 townhomes, neither which was wanted by the commissioners.
A 32-acre property at 10419 Lee Highway was annexed by Collegedale for a large development. The property consisted of 25 acres that had no zoning designation. The rest of it was zoned for commercial use. The developer requested to rezone the entire parcel to high density, single family residential. Citizens who were in opposition organized and public hearings were held. The commissioners listened to what they wanted and denied the rezoning request in February, 2024. But on Monday night the developer was back with another rezoning request.
Bryan Barrett, a resident of the White Oak Valley Circle, the neighborhood that will be most affected, attributed the situation that the city was in to the city administration whose responsibility it was to follow through with the commissioners’ decision. He said he believed it was either “gross incompetence or malicious intent” on the part of the city with the developers being more informed and sophisticated than the city’s administration regarding annexation and rezoning. This is something that will change the landscape of the city and county forever, he said. Two other residents spoke in opposition to the plan during the public hearing.
Mike Price with MAP Engineering, who represented the developer, said despite the circumstances of how it happened, the plan being voted on was the best solution available now. The rezoning request had been withdrawn after the earlier meeting when the commissioners denied the requested rezoning. Mr. Price held meetings with the concerned citizens, and he said he followed up by adjusting the plans to try and accommodate their requests. Some of the adjustments that were made in the process, include that additional property was purchased to create a 50-foot natural buffer between the development known as Bell Farms, and White Oak Valley Circle. The number of homes was decreased from 109 to 102, the layout now has areas for public use such as playgrounds, and the stormwater detention pond was designed to handle water from a 100-year storm event. Stormwater runoff should not affect those homes on White Oak Valley Circle, said Mr. Price, because it is higher than the Bell Farms development and water flows downhill.
More restrictions would be required for the development with a PUD, said City Manager Waymon Hines. The developers had an alternative plan ready to go if the commissioners had voted to deny the zoning change and PUD on Monday night. That alternative plan would have been building 220 townhouses instead of 102 single-family houses. The increased number of homes would have required a second entrance into the development from White Oak Valley Circle. And if the PUD was not approved, the developers would not have to create the 50-foot buffer, density could increase to three to four units per acre and among other things, the community spaces would go away.
Vice Mayor Tonya Sadler said that the commissioners should have asked at that original meeting what would happen if they denied the rezoning and the PUD overlay. She said, “Collegedale has a city attorney, a city manager and a city engineer, and at that meeting somebody should have said something about letting us not assign zoning to the property. That is why they are staff and get paid.”
Commissioner Debbie Baker said she was present at that meeting and questioned about zoning and was shot down and told it was not needed because of the annexation. That was wrong, she said. "But we cannot go back and undo it and now have to make the best of the situation and move forward." She said she believes in time that everybody will recognize it is a good plan although they do not see it now.
Commissioner Laura Howse asked how the city can make sure it does not happen again. City Manager Hines said the problem came with the un-zoned nature of the property when it was annexed. Zoning provides a set of restrictions, and, if there is no zoning, there are no restrictions. "That is where we find ourselves," he said. The board of commissioners are aware now “that hole exists.” He said he had talked to Collegedale’s state representatives asking for the state law to be changed so when property is annexed, it would revert to a base zoning, and not be left un-zoned.
The vote to rezone the 32 acres to High Density Single-Family residential (R-1-H) and to approve the PUD overlay, was four in favor with Mayor Morty Lloyd absent from the meeting.
In other business, an ordinance passed to set the property tax rate for 2026. After the reappraisals that were done in 2025 when the value of property increased significantly, Hamilton County adjusted the tax rate for each municipality to keep the property tax assessments revenue neutral. That certified rate for the city of Collegedale was set at $1.069. Although each city has the ability to raise their certified rate in order to bring in more tax revenue, Collegedale officially adopted the certified rate on the second and final reading at the Monday night meeting.
The police department will be getting a 2024 Ford F-150 police responder pickup truck to replace one that was totaled last month. The cost will be $47,989 and some of that cost will be covered by the insurance from the wrecked vehicle.
The commissioners also approved entering into an agreement with The Heil Co. doing business as 3rd Eye. This service is for cameras on the garbage trucks. There are seven on each truck and are tools for verifying things such as missed pick-ups, or claims about cans being out of place and they record if the driver is wearing a seatbelt and seeing around the sides for the safety of people and other vehicles. The service is for a one-year term with a five-year contract at $3,000-$6,000 per year and there will be an additional operating cost.
An addendum of $50,000 was approved to have a resident project representative from Cannon & Cannon to oversee the work during the sewer pump station modernization project. This person will be on site once a week. Although the city has engineers on staff, City Manager Hines said this work is so highly specialized that nobody on the city’s staff would be qualified.