CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – An 86-acre property off Dover Road has been proposed for rezoning from agricultural (AG) to R-1 single family residential.

The property fronts the western end of Dotsonville Road, and it lays more than 3,000 feet south of the Dover Road and Dotsonville Road intersection, according to the Regional Planning Commission.

This area of Montgomery County, located within the Woodlawn Dotsonville planning area, has already seen two nearby rezonings this year, which includes just last month when more than 11 acres was rezoned from AG to R-1 off Dover Road.

Meanwhile, 76 acres was rezoned from AG to R-1 back in March just north of where the 11 acres sits. Those 76 acres will be where the second section of the Jackson Hills subdivision will be developed, and the 11 acres rezoned last month will be stubbed into the planned subdivision, according to previous reports.

How many homes? How will traffic, schools be affected?

At the Montgomery County Commission’s Nov. 3 meeting, commissioners had several questions for RPC Director Jeffrey Tyndall. Commissioner David Harper asked how many homes could be included in the proposal.

Tyndall said the developers would be limited to 160 homes based off subdivision regulations. Harper then asked Tyndall about a possible turning lane on Dotsonville Road.

“I can’t speak for the Highway Department, but this will be evaluated when this comes in for subdivision (review), and if the width of Dotsonville (Road) needs to be widened in either direction, that’ll be part of this development,” Tyndall said. “But they have not made that comment at this point.”

Tyndall said the Highway Department did not list any additional concerns following the traffic study done for the proposal.

Tyndall said the Clarksville-Montgomery County School System mentioned school capacity for three schools in the area: Liberty Elementary, New Providence Middle and Northwest High School. He said Liberty Elementary is at 105% capacity, while New Providence and Northwest are at more than 80% capacity.

However, the development of Freedom Elementary School will help alleviate capacity at Liberty Elementary, Tyndall said.

Dover Road and Dotsonville Road intersection

Given the number of houses added to the area recently, Commissioner Nathan Burkholder asked if there were plans for upgrades to the Dover Road and Dotsonville Road intersection. Tyndall said that was not mentioned by the Highway Department, but he will meet with them for further discussion.

Commissioner Jeremiah Walker said he would hate for the County Commission to vote on the proposal, just to find out nothing will be done to improve Dotsonville Road.

Commissioner David Shelton said since he was in high school, thousands of houses have been added on Dotsonville Road, yet there’s no controlled intersection at Dover Road. “I feel like before we start adding a lot more homes to this particular intersection, we’ve got to make it safe,” Shelton said.

Commissioner Walker Woodruff said he would have a hard time voting in favor of the proposal unless two entrances can be created.

Public comments for and against

Speaking on behalf of the applicant, Gary Kihara told the commission the plan is an affordable, suburban housing community with sidewalks. He said that if needed, they can look into putting a second entrance on the southeast corner of the property.

Kihara also said they wouldn’t have the first house done until about October 2027.

Resident Anne Murtha said she lives at the top of Dotsonville Road. “I’m here to reinforce what we all already know, that the infrastructure in Clarksville-Montgomery County is not keeping up with the growth,” Murtha said. “The government has one job: to support and care for the citizens under its jurisdiction.

“We know you guys provide the schools, … I went by Barksdale (Elementary) the other day; I think I counted 10 portables. So, we have a lot of students not in the buildings. Another thing that government does is provide roads. We all are painfully aware that there are not enough roads in town to take care of all of the traffic.”

Murtha asked if, as a community, we will learn from our mistakes, as well as others’ mistakes, when learning how to deal with unprecedented growth.

What’s next

The Montgomery County Commission will meet for their formal, voting meeting on Monday, Nov. 10, at 6 p.m.

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