Planning commission approves preliminary site plan for Water Tower District Phase 2; neighbors raise traffic and buffering concerns

The Collierville Planning Commission voted to approve the preliminary site plan for Shilling Farms Phase 79, also described as Water Tower District Phase 2, a 13.13-acre multifamily phase that proposes 246 rental units and 508 parking spaces.

Don (planning staff) told commissioners the phase would include one- to three-bedroom rental units, common amenities (mail room, club room, storage and bike storage), a community pool, two lawn areas and a dog park. Unlike Phase 1 of the Water Tower District, staff said, this phase does not include retail. Don said the applicant (Bull Investment, represented by Boyle Investment Company) agreed to the 18 conditions of approval listed in the staff report.

Staff said water and sewer service is available; the site will connect to internal roads and to existing streets in Phase 1. An updated traffic study analyzing conditions through 2028 concluded study intersections would operate at level of service C or better during peak hours, and staff said an eastbound right-turn lane on Poplar with a storage length of about 250 feet will accommodate traffic generated by this phase. Signal-phasing improvements at the Winchester intersection were identified as a full build-out improvement but not required for this phase.

On stormwater, staff said runoff would be conveyed via private pipes into the existing drainage system; an increase in the contributing drainage area to an existing detention pond required installation of an oversized 60-inch storm drain to provide underground detention. Staff recommended approval after conditions were met; the design-review commission (DRC) will review trees, buffering and design details at its meeting next week.

Several adjacent residents spoke at the meeting. Dixon Stewart, who said he lives at 119 Peyton Run Loop West in Porter Farms Phase 7, told the commission that Peyton Parkway currently functions as the primary entrance and exit for his subdivision and that the proposed connection would create a new access that residents fear will route Water Tower District traffic through their neighborhood. “There’s serious concern from the homeowners that you’re going to have traffic going in and out of the Water Tower District right through our neighborhood,” Stewart said. Tony Bolden, another resident whose house fronts Peyton Parkway, said the change “will have a dramatic impact on the neighborhood.”

Applicant Lehi Binkley of Boyle Investment Company said the developer had followed prior planning direction and had invested in infrastructure connections to integrate the developments and that connections were foreseen in historic outline plans. Binkley said the developer intends to follow required design, buffering and DRC review processes.

Commission discussion touched on timing of required traffic improvements, distribution of traffic through the site and the location of a dumpster enclosure near the Porter Farms boundary. Don and the applicant said the proposed dumpster location met town standards but acknowledged neighbor concerns and recommended the applicant consider relocation if feasible. The DRC will examine buffering and the dumpster during its review.

A motion to approve case number 250096, “Shilling Farms Planned Development Area 2,” as presented with conditions passed after a roll-call vote. Commissioner Stamps recused himself. The recorded votes included Commissioner Green voting no and Commissioners Sledd, Rozanski and Chairman Cotton voting yes; the motion carried.

Staff outlined the next steps: DRC review (next week), BMA meeting on April 28, then final site plans, subdivision recording and building permits following those approvals.