Johnson City planning commission defers final plat for Claude Simmons subdivision after residents raise traffic and access concerns

Johnson City Regional Planning Commission members voted Feb. 10 to defer action on a proposed five‑lot final plat at 512 Claude Simmons Road after residents urged the commission to delay approval until developers produce detailed plans for a remaining 43‑acre tract.

The application would subdivide the site into four lots fronting Claude Simmons Road and a larger Lot 5 to the rear. Staff recommended approval, saying the four front lots meet Johnson City subdivision and zoning standards and noting constraints in the site's floodplain. Planning manager Whitney Hodges told the commission the project "meets the requirements" and that access and setbacks had been reviewed by staff.

Residents who live in nearby Strawberry Fields told commissioners they feared construction traffic and long‑term increases in vehicle trips and urged the commission to withhold approval until the developers submit plans for the rear tract. "It seems irresponsible to approve lots 1 through 4, which by design eliminate the potential for Claude Simmons access," said Lottie Ryans, a neighborhood resident, during the public hearing. Fernando Zepeda, president of the Strawberry Field homeowners association, asked the commission to "delay approval of this project until we at least have a more concrete plan for part B of the subdivision."

Surveyor Steve Lyons and applicant Brian Sandgett responded that engineering for the back parcel is underway and that the developers currently anticipate a small number of houses in the rear. Lyons said accessing the rear tract from Claude Simmons would be difficult because of the floodplain and creek and that the developers expect to build "about 7 or 8" lots in the back; Sandgett said the applicants hope to have clearer plans in a "few weeks." Lawrence Perry of Engineering and Public Works explained that the floodplain is a special flood hazard area (Zone A) and that construction across it would be constrained by federal and local permitting.

Commissioners discussed legal and technical limits on future access: city staff explained that existing "control strips" at the ends of Strawberry Fields streets limit automatic rights to create new connections from those streets and that any future main access from Claude Simmons could require county approval. One commissioner moved to approve the plat on the grounds it complied with city regulations, but that motion failed for lack of a second. Another commissioner then moved, with a second, to defer the matter to a date certain — the commission set the matter for its March meeting. On the roll call, the motion to defer passed (Aldridge, Baumgartner, Mead, Westmoreland, Williams, Goetz voted yes; Dagenhart and Chairman Dutton voted no).

The commission's deferral leaves the applicant time to return with more complete development plans for the rear tract and gives staff and the public additional opportunity to review proposed access and traffic mitigation. The commission is scheduled to consider the item again on March 10, 2026.