Residents urge delay, raise safety concerns over proposed DR Horton development

At the Board of Mayor and Aldermen meeting on May 4, several residents urged Sevierville officials to delay or re-evaluate actions related to a proposed DR Horton development, saying the project could harm public safety and the area's rural character.

Weston Underwood asked the Board to postpone any Board or Planning Commission action on the development, citing concerns about emergency response time and what he described as inadequate ingress and egress. Mark Burk followed, asking who would be responsible for required road improvements and why the traffic study did not examine the single ingress/egress condition. Martha Madigan told the Board she feared the development would negatively affect the community’s rural nature and increase traffic and safety risks. Kent Anders noted that all access for the development enters onto Red Bank Road and suggested regulatory measures to address inadequate roads. Leland Wykoff questioned how police, fire and water services would be affected and said the project is inappropriate for the location. Carol Agee pressed about the authorship of a Planning Commission letter to the County and called for reevaluation of zoning that she said creates unsafe conditions.

Development Director Corey Divel later told the Board that the referenced "416 traffic study" is complete; the study's contents and any staff response to the specific public concerns were not summarized in the meeting minutes. No Board motion relating to postponement of the development was recorded during the meeting.

The public forum comments came before a slate of routine votes and did not result in immediate action on the development at the May 4 meeting.