Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use Rezoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mount Juliet residents push back as commission considers rezoning for 1316 Clearview Drive
Summary
Neighbors urged the Board of Commissioners to reject a proposal to rezone 1316 Clearview Drive from OPS to CTC, saying the change would increase traffic, endanger schoolchildren and set a precedent for incremental rezoning along Mount Juliet Road. The developer said the project is intended as neighborhood‑serving retail with buffer commitments; the board held a voice vote.
Mayor James Manus opened deliberations on 11c, a request to rezone 1316 Clearview Drive from OPS to CTC, after a lengthy public‑comment period in which multiple Clearview residents urged the board to keep the parcel in its existing office‑professional zoning.
The rezoning request drew sustained opposition from neighbors who live directly behind the site. Matthew Thomas, a resident adjacent to the parcel, told the commission the planning commission had recently given a nearly unanimous negative recommendation for a block rezone and asked, “What has changed?” Other neighbors said traffic on Mount Juliet Road is already congested, schools sit across the street and the parcel’s conversion to commercial uses would invite more cut‑through traffic and safety risks for children.
Darren Cunningham, a former planning commissioner who also works in real estate, said the likely beneficiary of a rezone is the landowner, not the city or surrounding residents: “When you compare the current zoning to the zoning that’s being proposed, the value is 30 to 35% higher.” He urged the board to require proof that the rezoning would provide community benefits that outweigh neighborhood harms.
The applicant, Kenneth Powers, described a mixed retail plan with second‑floor office and salon suites and said local food and coffee operators have expressed interest. Powers said the principal reason he sought CTC was to allow a drive‑through for a coffee concept; he told the board he was willing to add buffering, berms and tree plantings to reduce light and noise impacts on adjacent homes.
Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on traffic and spacing, and public‑works staff warned that additional signals in the short corridor near existing intersections could create operational problems. Commissioner Hefner and others said the board should be cautious where residential backyards and schools border major corridors.
The board took a voice vote on item 11c; board members recorded both ‘aye’ and at least one ‘nay’ during the roll call. The transcript records the vote being taken; the primary contours of the debate centered on whether the rezoning should be used to permit drive‑through food service and whether mitigation (buffers, limited hours, deed restrictions) could address neighbors’ concerns. The item was on its first reading and will return per the board’s normal process for second reading and final action if required.
