Spring Hill board weighs renegotiating $2 million funding agreement after county changes access plan

The Spring Hill Board of Mayor and Aldermen spent a major portion of its March 2 work session discussing a residential subdivision in the city’s urban growth boundary and a $2 million funding agreement intended to offset impacts to Kidron Road. Development services staff told the board the developer has not paid the agreed $2,000,000 and that the project team has not coordinated with the city to advance the connection to Kidron Road.

“Since the full execution of that agreement, the city has not received the payment of $2,000,000,” said Miss Sanders, the city staff presenter, explaining the background of a funding agreement the board approved last July to offset project impacts to Kidron Road. Sanders said the county-approved preliminary plat for roughly 290 single-family lots originally relied on county roads for vehicular access and that the county approval did not include street connections to city streets.

Sanders told the board the developer recently sought to amend the county preliminary plat to make Kidron Road the primary access and limit other routes to emergency access only. The Murray County Regional Planning Commission considered that amendment on Feb. 23 and denied it unanimously, Sanders said, citing lack of coordination with the city and unclear intersection design and timing.

A representative for the development team told the board the developer entered the original agreement in good faith and is willing to return to the negotiating table. “We have no objection. We want it reconsidered for everybody’s best interest,” the project representative said, urging renewed negotiations between the developer’s traffic engineers and city staff.

Board members pressed staff and the developer on next steps and options. Sanders outlined two immediate choices: cancel the funding agreement (which would not eliminate traffic impacts and would mean the city would not receive a contribution toward Kidron improvements) or renegotiate the funding agreement to reflect the changed access pattern and to identify how mitigation work and financial contributions should be apportioned.

Several board members urged staff to pursue coordinated talks with Murray County staff and the developer. Alderman Fuqua asked that staff—working with the city attorney—reach out to county staff so the city will not find itself in a similar “awkward position” later. Vice Mayor Linville asked the developer to explain why access points were being abandoned; the developer attributed the county shift to local opposition at county hearings and said the developer still has vested rights and time under state law to address access.

Staff said any amendment that would allow Kidron Road to be the primary access could change the traffic impacts at Kidron and the Port Royal intersection; Sanders recommended renegotiation of the funding agreement so staff could evaluate traffic impacts and potential on‑ and off‑site improvements, and advise an appropriate financial contribution from the developer.

The board did not take a final vote on the funding agreement at the meeting. Instead, members asked staff to pursue negotiations with the developer and to coordinate with Murray County staff on intersection design and traffic mitigation options. Staff said it will return with recommendations after those consultations.

• What’s next: staff will attempt to reconvene negotiations between the developer team, Murray County staff and city staff and will report back with impact analyses and a proposed next step for the board; no formal amendment or cancellation occurred at the March 2 meeting.