The Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission on Aug. 25 approved the site plan for Overall Creek Storage, a proposed 15,663-square-foot self-storage facility on 4.21 acres at 5418 Franklin Road (State Route 96), after extended discussion about floodplain risks, stormwater design and long-term maintenance obligations.

Planning staff told commissioners the parcel sits entirely within the FEMA 100-year floodplain and includes FEMA floodway areas. The applicant received a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals in May 2024 to allow a self-storage facility in the office-professional zoning district, and staff said the site plan had been revised to meet county flood- and stormwater-elevation requirements.

County staff described technical steps the applicant took to reduce flood risk: raising finished floor elevations and site grades above FEMA 100-year elevations, providing a compensatory cut to replace any filled flood storage volume, and designing a stormwater approach that uses pervious pavers with a stone sub-base to provide detention storage and metered outlets. Staff also noted the site is within the Murfreesboro city limits along that segment of Franklin Road, so TDOT and the city must be coordinated with regard to access permits.

Commissioners pressed the applicant and staff on whether the pervious pavers and the proposed storage volume would function in a high water table or saturated soils. One commissioner warned that permitting development entirely inside a floodplain can lead to long-term problems and buyouts years later. Staff and the applicant said they had reviewed FEMA elevations (citing a 2023 FEMA map update), that the proposed pad and building floors were several feet above the FEMA 100-year elevations (plans show finished floor elevations around 602 versus FEMA 599.2 in spot checks), and that the applicant provided a compensatory cut volume (noted on the plan set as 2.16 acre-feet / 3,486 cubic yards cut and 3,354 cubic yards fill with a net cut of 132 cubic yards).

The applicant’s engineer said as-built surveys and FEMA elevation certificates will be provided for each building at permitting, and the county will require a stormwater maintenance agreement that the owner must honor. Staff said the county conducts summer inspections (an intern program) and can enforce maintenance; if the owner fails to maintain stormwater infrastructure, the county may perform the work and charge the owner.

One applicant representative said that the road crossing (Franklin Road/State Route 96) acts as a control and that the proposed floor elevations are above the 100-year and even in range versus the 500-year elevations shown in the profile. The applicant’s representative said the design engineer included a compensatory volume in the plan set and had certified the calculations on the plan pages.

After discussion and questions, a motion to approve the site plan passed on a roll-call vote; commissioners recorded affirmative votes. The approval is contingent on final plan revisions to clarify floor-elevation notes, the filing of required FEMA elevation certificates and the stormwater maintenance agreement, and any required TDOT or city of Murfreesboro access approvals.

Commissioners asked staff to ensure the compensatory cut and maintenance language are recorded and that the county’s inspection program will include the pervious pavers as part of routine stormwater monitoring.