Mount Juliet commissioners approve land-use change and annexation for Marabella; residents warn of traffic, emergency access

Mount Juliet commissioners on April 28 approved a land-use amendment for the Marabella subdivision and moved to annex and rezone the property after a public hearing in which nearby residents pressed officials about traffic, school capacity and emergency access.

The proposals affect roughly 403.44 acres along Beckwith Road, Lebanon Road and Bass Lane and include a change from low-density residential to neighborhood commercial for a portion of the site as well as related rezoning and a preliminary master development plan. Mayor James Maness presided over the meeting.

The project team — represented at the hearing by Kevin Sturgill of M2 Group (1881 General George Patton, Franklin) and civil engineer Matt Bridal — told the commission the plan includes phased construction with private roads, sidewalks, and a landscaped walking network. Developers also agreed to a voluntary $7,500 contribution per unit that the board arranged to direct toward Lebanon Road improvements; staff recorded the math as a roughly $3,255,000 total contribution and the commission adopted language requiring that contribution be collected at the time erosion‑control permits are issued.

Why it matters: Residents living along Lebanon Road and in nearby Poplar Point…