CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – After hearing the cases for and against a potential zone change north of West Concord Drive, the City Council voted down the proposal that would have transitioned 1 acre from R-2 single family residential to R-4 multiple family residential.
While several community members spoke out against the zone change Thursday night, at the prior City Council executive session last week, council members Deanna McLaughlin, Keri Lovato and Tim Chandler expressed concerns over potential flooding in the area, while councilperson Stacey Streetman spoke on traffic dangers.
On the other hand, the applicant, Reda Homebuilders, was also in attendance Thursday to make their case for the zone change and said the flooding in the area isn’t his problem, but the city’s.
‘I feel that it’s a deflection of a zoning issue’
Rick Reda said he would like to move forward with the Regional Planning Commission’s recommendation for the property, which is between Lafayette Road and Fort Campbell Boulevard.
“I would like to go with their recommendations, on the plans that they set forth for the City of Clarksville,” Reda said. “They approved it, the board approved it, everybody approved it. It’s coming here today in front of y’all, and I feel that it’s a deflection of a zoning issue when it’s more of a flooding issue. The flooding’s not on any of these people back here (addressing the crowd), and it’s not on me. It’s on you guys, it’s on the Street Department, it’s on Mayor Pitts.”
Reda said he would like the city to go to Bunker Hill, into the basin, so they can dig out the sinkhole, while measuring to the bottom and to the top of the ground. Then, having the mindset to take in 5,000 loads of dirt off the site. “You’re not creating a pond, it’s still going to drain into the hole, and you’re holding more volume. I went by there this afternoon, and it’s already full. It needs fixed, and you guys need to fix it.”
‘Our flood zones aren’t going backward, they are extending’
Lovato told Reda she will still be voting no on the zone change since there is a FEMA 100-year flood zone on the rear of the property. While Reda said the flood plain is fixable, Lovato said her concerns remain until it can be proven that there is a fix.
“If it was a manmade basin or an injection well, I’d be like, ‘OK, maybe there is a fix.’ But there’s not for a 100-year flood zone,” Lovato said. “Feb. 15, we saw our 100-year flood zones be exceeded by 100 to 200 feet in some areas. Our flood zones aren’t going backward, they are extending. So, what is this property going to look like in 10 years when Clarksville continues to get more rain than it ever has? What will future homeowners be dealing with? And those future homeowners who are going to be flooded by that 100-year flood zone won’t be coming to you and upset with you, they’re going to be coming to the city and be upset with City Council members.”
McLaughlin said Feb. 15 changed a lot of things for a lot of people, including her opinion of the proposed zone change. “I know you’ve invested into this property, but when I’m standing in people’s homes in 3-4 feet of water, when they don’t know how they’re going to pay to fix it, and now they’re facing it again, I can’t responsibly be in favor of something like this,” she told the applicant.
‘There’s been one teenager clipped’
Todd Hood spoke against the proposed zone change, and he said he lives adjacent to the property in question.
“This is concerning to me for numerous reasons, but the most concerning is the safety of our families,” Hood said. “The residents in our neighborhood have experienced multiple safety issues, as well as the horrendous flooding, which we’ve discussed here today.”
Hood said he wanted to bring attention to the S-curve in the area. “There’s been one teenager clipped by a car walking to his grandmother’s house, who was actually my son. Thank God he was OK. A fire hydrant last month got completely run over and destroyed, and we were out of water for eight hours.”
Additional accidents and families displaced
Hood continued listing examples of accidents near the S-curve, including a truck running through the curve and ending up in his yard, a neighbor’s fence being run through repeatedly and cars driving over the sidewalk in the area and destroying the guardrail.
“These cars are running off the road, over the sidewalk, into people’s yards and running over the guardrail,” Hood said. “We do have 100 signatures in our neighborhood that oppose this zoning change.”
Hood said the property proposed for zone change sits right in this curve and adding more vehicles entering and exiting the roadway would be disastrous.
Hood also brought up that 60 families in West Concord have been displaced with some not returning due to the flooding. He asked the council to vote down the proposal for the health and well-being of the residents who live in the area.
Ronnie Howton also spoke out against the zone change and said while he doesn’t live in the area, he’s done research and believes the approval of the zone change could add to the dangers in the area. “I wanted to also say that infrastructure is key to the success or failure of a property. Infrastructure first before a home. Please deny this,” Howton said.
The zoning change failed unanimously 0-13.
| DOWNLOAD THE APP: Sign up for our free Clarksville Now app