County commission hears two rezoning requests in Woodlawn-Dotsonville planning area

County planning staff presented two rezoning requests at the May 5 public hearing, and planners and applicants answered commissioner questions about flood risk, school capacity and traffic.

Planning staff introduced case CZ42025, an application from Wanda Darnell to rezone a 1.36-acre parcel from E1 (single-family estate) to EM1 (single-family/mobile home estate). Staff said the change would permit either a conventional stick-built home or a mobile home and that no adverse environmental issues were identified. The planning commission recommended approval.

Staff then presented CZ62025, an application from Linda Wortham with agent Holly Point LLC to rezone 32.7 acres from AG (agricultural) to R1 (single-family residential) as a logical extension of the existing Lisenby Fields neighborhood. Staff said the tract sits in County Commission District 7 in the Woodlawn-Dotsonville planning area and in the urban growth boundary. Staff estimated the rezoned area could yield about 64 additional homes and recommended approval; the planning commission also recommended approval.

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on localized flooding, school capacity and traffic. Commissioner Woodruff asked whether low-lying areas would cause flooding; planning staff said the parcel is on higher ground and that county drainage reviews would note any 100-year flood hazard. Commissioner Walker raised school-capacity concerns for Liberty Elementary, New Providence Middle and Northwest schools; staff noted that a new Freedom Elementary School under design "will have a ripple effect" to relieve some nearby elementary schools. Commissioner Walker remained skeptical.

On traffic, Commissioner Walker and others said Dover Road experiences heavy congestion. Planning staff replied that nearby Dover Road is already five lanes with a shoulder and that any required highway improvements would be flagged by the county highway department or the Tennessee Department of Transportation. The applicant's representative, Lawson Mabry, said the developer plans to add a Dover Road entrance and a three-lane exit designed with TDOT and the county highway department, and that the developer has invested in neighborhood amenities and a landscape buffer near existing houses. "We will be adding an entrance on Dover Road," Mabry said, and he described plans to provide pedestrian access to Liberty Elementary School.

No members of the public spoke in opposition to CZ42025. Mabry spoke in support of CZ62025 on behalf of the Lisenby family; he said the developer has spent more than $1,000,000 on amenities and intended to be a "good neighbor." The public hearing was closed; no formal vote on either case is recorded in the transcript.

The staff presentations repeatedly cited consistency with the county's comprehensive plan and future land-use map as rationale for approval. Commissioners asked staff to supply further details on total approved housing units and school capacity figures after the meeting.