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Planning director outlines four rezoning proposals; committee approves planning report
Summary
Rutherford County Planning Director Doug DeMasi presented four rezoning applications the planning commission recommended for consideration at the county commission meeting. The committee approved the planning report and staff will forward materials to the board of commissioners.
Doug DeMasi, Rutherford County planning and engineering director, briefed the Public Works and Planning Committee on four rezoning applications that the planning commission forwarded for consideration at the board of commissioners meeting next week.
Why it matters: each rezoning could change land use and traffic patterns in its neighborhood and will require subsequent site plans, buffering and, where applicable, traffic studies. The committee approved the planning report and agreed staff will provide the required materials to the county commission.
Summary of applications presented: - Swanson Development (Elam Road): A roughly 10-acre request to rezone from Residential Medium (RM) to Employment and Activity Center (EAC). The applicant included a nonbinding concept plan showing three buildings (about 70,000 square feet total) with flex space and warehouse uses. No traffic study had been submitted; staff said one could be required at site-plan review. The planning commission unanimously recommended approval after discussing a previously relocated cemetery on the site; county archival research indicated graves were moved to Evergreen Cemetery after 1975 and are not currently on site.
- Hollingshead Development (Hickory Grove Road): Applicant seeks rezoning from RM to Light Industrial to accommodate parking and storage for building materials on roughly 4.5–5 acres. Planning staff noted the site was already developed without permits; the planning commission recommended approval but raised concerns about the property’s prior unpermitted work and stressed that an engineered site plan and performance‑standards review would be required prior to final approval.
- Matt Hamilton / Reagan Smith (4610 Sulphur Springs Road): About 10 acres proposed for rezoning from RM to Commercial Services for a mini‑warehouse development (applicant’s concept shows 302 units and a fenced, gated facility). DeMasi noted a mini‑warehouse use in Commercial Services requires a special‑exception approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals even if zoning is changed. The planning commission recommended approval; staff said a traffic study and careful drainage review will likely be required because the site is in a drainage‑sensitive area with sinkholes.
- Swanson Development LP (Manchester Pike, ~105 acres): Applicant seeks to rezone approximately 92 acres to Planned Unit Development (PUD) and about 12.5 acres to Commercial General, envisioning multiple warehouse/distribution buildings. The concept plan shows roughly 644,000 square feet across up to nine buildings (applicant stated total building area would not exceed 700,000 square feet). A traffic study submitted by the applicant recommended turn lanes and a new traffic signal at the principal entrance; planning commission approval included a condition flipping roll-up doors on the northernmost building to reduce noise impacts on adjacent residences. The planning commission recommended approval with some commissioners dissenting.
Committee action: After the presentation, Commissioner [name not specified in transcript] moved and the committee voted to approve the planning report for transmission to the county commission. Planning staff told the committee that engineered site plans, buffering, performance standards and traffic studies would be required at later stages as applicable.
Ending: Each rezoning request will appear on the board of commissioners agenda; site-plan and special-exception reviews, where required, will follow the zoning decisions.
