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Smyrna planning commission defers annexation and PID zoning for Florence Road storage project after fire-access and layout concerns
Summary
Commissioners deferred the annexation and PID zoning request for 8216 Florence Road (Sunny Patel) to the next meeting after the fire department and staff flagged vehicle-turn and hydrant-coverage issues and neighbors asked for larger buffers and curbing to prevent overnight truck parking.
The Municipal Planning Commission voted Nov. 6 to defer action on an annexation and PID zoning request for 8216 Florence Road (applicant: Sunny Patel), asking the applicant for revised drawings to address fire-department access, hydrant coverage and building layout before the commission considers the request again.
Staff described the proposal as a 34,771-square-foot conventional self-storage facility with nine covered outdoor-storage bays and conversion of an existing house into an office. Staff noted changes to exterior materials and indicated several outstanding technical comments: the fire department requested clearer auto-turn (turning-path) diagrams, hydrant coverage questions may require a water-main extension across Florence Road to meet the 400-foot hydrant rule, and utility and site-plan details remained incomplete.
Public comment and safety concerns: Kelly Butler, a resident who said she has met repeatedly with the applicant and developer representatives, urged curb installation to prevent parking in grass and asked for a 100-foot landscape buffer where homes are within 1,000 feet of proposed storage buildings. Assistant Chief Lawrence told the commission the fire department’s operational standard requires that any point of a building be reachable by apparatus within 150 feet; he said the department’s minimums apply to both open and closed storage buildings and recommended ensuring safe turn radii and access. In the meeting he said, “there is no difference as far as the the minimum requirements for closed or open, but it is a 150 foot reach for any point of the building from wherever we would have to place an apparatus.”
Site-layout specifics: engineers and staff raised concerns that some drive aisles and proposed parking widths are tight for long vehicles and emergency apparatus, and that existing on-site circulation may require reconfiguration. Commissioners and staff asked the applicant to rework the site plan so fire apparatus can complete required turns without mounting curbs or entering parking stalls, to show hydrant locations and water-line routing, and to consider a 20-foot side setback along property edges that adjoin undeveloped tracts to preserve future buffering options.
Commission action: a commissioner moved to defer the application to the commission’s next meeting and asked staff to require updated auto-turn diagrams, revised building placement to address apparatus and service access, a 20-foot side setback to preserve future buffering options, and any other clarifications requested by staff. The motion was seconded and passed.
Next steps: staff asked the applicant to return with revised plans addressing the fire-department turning templates, hydrant coverage/watermain routing, clearer separation between covered-storage canopies and open storage areas, and any required landscape/buffering revisions before the commission will act on the annexation and PID zoning request.
