Spring Hill resident asks for sewer-connection moratorium exemption for Keaton Road property

Derek Merrill asked the Spring Hill Board of Mayor and Aldermen to exempt his property at 3779 Keaton Road from an upcoming sewer-connection moratorium and to honor a previously shown commercial future land‑use designation.

Merrill said the 13.4‑acre parcel, owned by MC Trace Revocable Living Trust with Derek and Tara Merrill as trustees, was shown as mixed-use on a 2008 plan and later printed in a 2015 future land‑use map as C2 (city commercial). He said the property was presented to the planning commission for a zoning change in February 2015 and that neighboring parcels were rezoned commercially without owner requests in 2020.

“We have since hired land surveyors, engineers, sewer and manhole elevation work,” Merrill said, adding that his family has spent several years collecting engineering data and soliciting construction bids. “Please don't close the runway.”

Merrill asked the board for “an exemption or hope we have provided to proven to be vested enough to avoid this upcoming moratorium on the sewer connections.” City staff responded that Merrill had been in contact with city development services and that Mr. Allen and development-services staff could work with him on details.

The board did not take a formal vote on an exemption during the meeting; staff said they would continue to work with Merrill and the development-services department to review his materials.

Ending: Staff committed to follow up through the development-services office and Mr. Allen to review the project’s vesting and the potential effect of the moratorium on Merrill’s proposed commercial plans.