CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – More than 76 acres in west Montgomery County south of the terminus of Highway 374 has been proposed for rezoning from agricultural district (AG) to single-family residential district (R-1).
The applicants, Carolyn Jackson Houston and M. Ireland, on Monday asked for the County Commission‘s approval as they are seeking rezoning of 76.21 acres south of Old Dover Court and east of Ross Lane. While introducing the proposal, Regional Planning Commission Director Jeffery Tyndall said the land consists of two parcels combined and is in the Planned Growth Area.
Tyndall also said the future land use of this tract is listed as rural reserve, and the designation was applied so the State Route 374 right-of-way could be identified and acquired free of encroachment.
Land just to the east of the property has already been purchased for the future 374 right-of-way, Tyndall said. “We worked with the applicant and TDOT to figure out where should the open space be behind the homes to reserve it for any future additional right-of-way. TDOT has a very detailed plan now – they didn’t have it several years ago – but we do have a right-of-way plan that we can pretty much rely on down to the foot. So, anything that comes on this property, or any properties in the area, we know what that should look like,” he said.
Planning Commission staff, as well as the RPC, recommended approval for the proposed rezoning.
Addressing traffic concerns
Tyndall said if this property was just accessing the roads to the west, he doesn’t believe the Planning Commission staff, nor possibly the RPC, would have been in favor of the proposal.
However, after conversations with TDOT, Tyndall said they are giving Montgomery County a crossing of 374, “somewhere to the south of this property, south of Ireland Way, allowing the property here and across the street to connect.”
TDOT will approve the grade of the crossing, which could come in possibly as a bridge or culvert, he said. “What that does is it opens up this development to get out to South Liberty Church and over to the school or over to the signalized intersection. A lot easier than getting out on the intersection of Old Dover Road and Dover Road, which is not the best location,” he said.
Tyndall said potential road improvements would be needed for Old Dover Road, Old Dover Court or Ross Lane, depending on how the applicants implement their access points, which was a main concern for County Commissioner Nathan Burkholder.
Burkholder said he’s worried about the number of fatalities and crashes the county has seen over the years on Old Dover Road. “It definitely needs some improvement before we put more traffic on Old Dover Road and 79,” Burkholder said.
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Speaking for the applicants, Vernon Weakley said they’ll be directing traffic to the east. Weakley said they’ll provide two access points going east, with one going out on South Liberty Church Road and the other going north on Ireland Way, which takes you directly to Dover Road.
Weakley also said after speaking with Tyndall, they are hoping to come up with a plan that’ll allow motorists on Ross Lane to use the proposed development/subdivision to get out, while the subdivision would not use Old Dover Road and Ross Lane as an exit route. Weakley suggested a one-way lane coming in from Ross Lane so motorists can have an alternative route going out to the east. “We are aware of that intersection, and we are working hard to diminish the amount of traffic that’s at that intersection currently,” Weakley said.
‘Extension of 374 is vital to community’
Commissioner David Harper asked about the setback for the TDOT right-of-way, and Tyndall said it’s typically 100 feet from the center line of the road or 50 feet.
“The rear yard setbacks for this property are 40 feet, so we may just have to incorporate a 50-foot setback on the rear of the yard. As you can see, if you develop the property to the west, we have a very good, defined area for 60% of that property. That’s already been acquired for the right-of-way,” he said. “We’ll work with them, we’ll put the open space so that if TDOT does acquire future land, it’ll be as a homeowner’s association piece of land and not individual backyards. That makes the whole acquisition process that much easier.”
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Harper asked if Tyndall had ever seen a potential road before it’s even built in the right of way, where they were already talking about an overpass or underpass being implemented. Tyndall said he has not but commended TDOT for working with the RPC throughout the planning process, especially with the project not being in TDOT’s 10-year-plan.
Harper said the extension of 374 is vital to the community, and he wouldn’t want to do anything to impede the process any further than it has already. Tyndall said with the conversations he’s had with TDOT, this development shouldn’t be something that delays the extension of 374. “They’ve given us the green light to design a road with them. Not just give it to them, but it’ll be with them hand-in-hand.”
The County Commission’s formal meeting is set for March 17, at 6 p.m.
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