Planning commission backs rezoning of I‑24 industrial “mega site” to M‑1; county commission review still required

The Coffee County Planning Commission voted to rezone the I‑24 industrial development site (formerly called the “mega site”) from A‑1 to M‑1 during its meeting, a change proponents said will remove an extra step for future tenants now that the state of Tennessee has purchased the property.

The rezoning request covered four parcels the presenters said will be blended into a single development site. The planning commission passed a motion to change the site’s zoning classification; the decision still must be approved by the full county commission.

The county mayor, who chaired the meeting, introduced the request and explained that the change would ensure the property is properly zoned when a tenant approaches the state and a new parcel line is created. Annie Jose Majors, identified in the meeting as the Industrial Board executive director, told the commission the state is marketing the site primarily to the aerospace and defense sector and that the property “looks like it will be somewhere between 3 and 6 parcels.” She added the rezoning “cuts down some of those processes” when locating businesses to the site and “makes the site more attractive.”

Speakers from the public asked clarifying questions about the rezoning process and notification procedures; an architect who lives locally asked how rezoning requests are initiated and noted that property owners and adjacent-owners receive mailed notice as part of the county’s process. Several members of the audience urged the commission to allow time for stakeholders and developers to study the change and find compromise language, arguing that sudden changes can affect projects already underway.

Commissioners voted to approve the change on the commission level. The chair noted that the commission was operating with a quorum of four members present and that one new commissioner, Laura Vasquez, who the mayor said met a Tennessee Code Annotated requirement for minority representation, was asked to abstain from voting on tonight’s items because she had not yet completed the body’s training.

The planning commission’s approval moves the request to the full county commission for final review and vote. No final county‑commission action was recorded during the meeting.