Planning Commission approves annexation and PRD rezoning for Old Salem Road development (Aubrey PRD)

The Murfreesboro Planning Commission on May 25 voted to approve the annexation of roughly 32.1 acres along Old Salem Road and to rezone approximately 27.9 of those acres to a planned residential district the applicant calls the Aubrey PRD.

"The subject property is contiguous to the existing city limits. It is located within the city's urban growth boundary and service infill line," city planner Matthew Donovan said during the public hearing. Donovan told the commission sanitary sewer must be extended to serve the property and that any sewer extension would be at the developer's cost.

The PRD, formerly called Old Salem PRD, proposes 98 homes: 66 single-family detached lots (minimum 6,000 square feet) and 32 single-family attached units (organized under a horizontal property regime). The developer committed to architectural standards including brick/stone and fiber cement, a 24-inch brick/stone water table on buildings, specified setbacks and internal open space with a tot lot, walking trail and detention areas. Donovan said the planned density, about 3.5 units per acre, is within the future land use suburban residential range of one to four units per acre.

Multiple nearby residents urged commissioners to delay or deny annexation and rezoning, saying the Veterans Parkway/Windrow/Old Salem intersections are already congested and hazardous, that low-lying parts of the site flood during heavy rains, and that local schools may be overcrowded. Speakers included Thomas Brough, Chris Smith and Jay McCraw, who described repeated accidents at nearby intersections and personal flooding of yards.

Staff and the applicant responded: Donovan said city schools were notified during the plan-of-services process and reported they could serve the additional students. The applicant and consultant said an HD (hydrologic) determination identified wetlands that would be preserved, and city engineering staff explained that required detention basins must limit post-development discharges to pre-development flow rates for the 100-year storm.

Commissioners discussed traffic warrants and noted a planned Rucker realignment is development-driven; public infrastructure staff said a traffic-impact study had been submitted and reviewed and that spacing between planned signals could limit additional signal locations. The commission approved both the annexation and the PRD rezoning subject to staff comments; votes were recorded as unanimous.

The project will require the developer to coordinate sewer extension with neighboring properties and to meet city engineering and permitting requirements for stormwater, access and other infrastructure prior to construction.