Planning Commission defers 818‑acre Hillwood annexation, cites sewer, roads and emergency‑service gaps

The Smyrna Municipal Planning Commission deferred action May 1 on an annexation and planned‑unit development (PUD) request from 452 Properties LLC (Hillwood) for roughly 818.3 acres along Bill France Road and I‑840.

Commissioners said the town and the developer still need signed agreements covering sewer extension, road upgrades, emergency response responsibilities and an unresolved county‑line boundary that could affect whether parts of the tract can be annexed.

The project as presented would split the annexed acreage into C‑2 commercial zoning for about 34.3 acres and I‑2 industrial zoning for the remainder; Hillwood asked for a 60‑foot height limit in the I‑2 areas (the current I‑2 limit cited is 50 feet). The developer’s concept plan showed up to 350,000 square feet in the C‑2 areas and up to 8,500,000 square feet in the I‑2 areas at full build‑out. Hillwood submitted an economic‑impact estimate that staff summarized in the meeting as projecting about $1.3 billion in annual economic impact at full build‑out, roughly 5,800 jobs supported and about $2 million in direct sales tax annually (figures the town characterized as developer estimates for a multi‑decade build‑out).

Why it matters: annexation would commit the town to providing services (roads, police, fire, sewer, water) on a large, mostly undeveloped tract that — as staff described — would require new sewer trunk lines, road upgrades, and possibly a new fire station to maintain the town’s current ISO protection class. Staff and commissioners repeatedly emphasized they could not recommend annexation without clearer, executable plans for who will design, build and pay for those public‑service investments.

Key discussion points

- Sewers and trunk line: Town staff said sewer service for much of the property would depend on a planned Fall Creek trunk line; engineers and developer representatives said a mature design is underway but no final funding or intergovernmental agreement is in place. A staff estimate presented in the meeting listed roughly $10,000,000 as a developer‑borne cost for the main sewer extension (including lift stations and force mains), but staff said final costs and who will pay remain to be negotiated. Paul Ranke of Hillwood said the company is “committed” to participating in the sewer extension and is preparing draft agreements to present to town staff.

- Roads and bridges: Staff provided a rough town estimate of about $14,000,000 to upgrade seven miles of county roads the town would likely need to accept and maintain if it annexed the properties; that estimate excludes at least one bridge (Powell’s Chapel) for which the town did not yet have a separate cost estimate. Staff noted some upgrades could be covered by TDOT grants already in place for a Fall Creek bridge replacement, but transferring or securing grant funding would require further action.

- Public safety and ISO rating: Staff said parts of the eastern parcel would lie more…