CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – A proposal to rezone land on Riverside and Cumberland Drives for a 5-story apartment building has returned to the City Council for consideration.

The proposal would rezone around 2.88 acres from R-1 to Planned Unit Development (PUD). The ordinance was originally deferred back to the Regional Planning Commission until a traffic impact assessment was completed. Previously, the council said they have concerns with location of the development.

RPC Director Jeffery Tyndall told the council the traffic impact assessment was conducted and found the additional traffic from the development will not adversely affect the intersection level of service. With that information, the RPC once again recommended the rezoning be approved.

5-story apartment building

PB&J Properties is the applicant for the five-story apartment building, which would be made up of 72 apartment units and 125 parking spaces. Of the apartment units, 32 would be one-bedroom, while the other 40 would be two-bedroom.

The west wing facing Riverside Drive is expected to be five stories tall, and the north wing facing Edgehill Drive is expected to be four stories.

The applicant believes the proposed use will provide much-needed housing downtown, while providing additional economic activity for the local community, according to previous reports. They also said the land lies within a qualified opportunity zone, which encourages redevelopment.

The Clarksville Street Department called for a number of road improvements as part of the plan, and Director David Smith said the Street Departments comments were:

  • Widen Manning Heights to 24 feet.
  • As Manning Heights extends to Cumberland Drive, widen Cumberland to 18 feet, adding roughly 2 feet of average asphalt.
  • With the widening, it would allow two-way traffic in this location.

The development is set to gain a portion of land owned by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), which is contingent on the City Council approving the PUD plan. The portion of land would be used as a 24-foot travel easement and areas for landscaping.

Smith said TDOT has a healthy right-of-way, which would accept the widening of the roadway without the need to acquire any private property.

Numerous protestors spoke out against the development when the proposal was first heard by the City Council, citing concerns about traffic and incompatible land use.

Hotel-motel tax to be postponed

In other Council matters, Mayor Joe Pitts said he plans on asking the City Council next week to postpone the proposed hotel-motel tax rate until the May regular session meeting.

“We’re working on a compromise plan, as well as I need time to separate fact from fiction,” Pitts said.

This comes after the City Council had already postponed the ordinance earlier this month due to the potential negative effects a proposed 4% hotel-motel tax rate hike would have on the community, according to previous reports.

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