Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Subdivision Access topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission denies Evans Estate replat, citing lack of legal access to public right-of-way
Summary
The commission denied a request to subdivide Evans Estate Lot 2 after staff said the proposed new lot would front only on CSX railroad property and would not meet city subdivision rules requiring legal access to a public street or a recorded public easement. Commissioners encouraged the owner to return with proof of access.
The Springfield Municipal Regional Planning Commission denied a final plat Nov. 6 that would have split Evans Estate Lot 2, concluding the proposed rear lot lacks legal access to a public right-of-way.
Staff told the commission the subdivision request, first submitted in 2017, would create a new lot that fronts only on CSX railroad property and does not satisfy the city subdivision regulations or Tennessee Code Annotated requirements that each lot have access to a public street or a recorded public easement. "Approval cannot be supported without verified legal access to a public right of way as required by city code and state law," Miss Durham said.
Property owner Clay Snead said drivers have used the roadway beyond the paved end for decades and described efforts to obtain access from CSX. "People have been driving off the end of that road onto this land for decades," Snead said, and said he had discussed leases with railroad representatives but found the process difficult. He also said he had offered to make part of the property a walking trail to connect to the cemetery.
Commissioners pressed Snead about whether the existing use constituted recorded access or an easement and whether a current plat shows the paved end reaching his property. An engineer reiterated that actual pavement or informal use does not substitute for the legal requirement: to create a buildable lot the applicant must provide evidence of a public right-of-way or a recorded perpetual access agreement. One commissioner summarized, "I see no way that we can approve something that's illegal until the owner of the property comes up and shows on a plat that he has public right of way access." The motion to deny the final plat passed (deny by 7).
The denial means the applicant will have to secure and document legal access, whether via a recorded easement, a permanent access agreement from CSX, or by other lawful means, before the commission can approve any subdivision. Commissioners suggested Snead return with verified documentation if it can be secured.
Next steps: owner may pursue a recorded easement or other legal access and return to the planning commission; staff will not support approval without verified public-right-of-way access.
