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Board approves four temporary fireworks tents at Kroger sites; staff cites safety setbacks and parking standard
Summary
The Board of Zoning Appeals unanimously approved four temporary fireworks vending permits at Kroger-anchored sites across Murfreesboro (Lancaster Pike, Memorial Boulevard, South Church Street, Old Fort Parkway). Staff said each site meets setback, fire-safety and temporary-vendor standards; board members urged better parking analyses for future seasons.
The Murfreesboro Board of Zoning Appeals on June 24 approved four special-use permits for temporary fireworks sales tents at Kroger shopping centers across the city, permitting vendors to operate during the prescribed selling season subject to staff conditions covering setbacks, fire-safety inspections and trash collection.
Staff told the board the proposed tents meet the city’s temporary-vendor and fireworks standards: tents are set back from property lines, exceed minimum distances from fuel stations and on-site alcohol consumption locations, and are located within the Kroger parking lots shown on submitted site plans. Reported tent dimensions included a roughly 30-by-50-foot tent at the Lancaster Pike Kroger (Z26024) and a 20-by-60-foot tent for the Memorial Boulevard Kroger (Z26025); other Kroger sites on South Church Street (Z26026) and Old Fort Parkway (Z26027) had similar site plans and staff-recommended conditions.
Staff said tents would operate during standard hours (typically 9 a.m.–9 p.m.), trash would be removed daily and generators and portable restrooms were noted on some plans. Staff also recommended that, if stakes are used to secure tents, Tennessee One Call be notified to locate underground utilities. The staff reviewer said the tent at Lancaster Pike would occupy about 20 parking spaces and that the department’s standard — temporary tents may not take up more than 25% of a site’s parking — was met on the submitted plans. He also said that, if the board was concerned about parking impacts, staff could provide more detailed calculations in future reviews.
A board member noted that city staff expects to approve a larger total number of temporary vendors this year (staff said that, with approvals pending, the total could reach 19 vendors), and suggested the city perform a deeper parking-capacity analysis for future seasons. No members of the public spoke for or against the permits at any of the four hearings. Each application was approved by roll call vote with the members present voting in favor.
The approvals are conditioned on compliance with the site plan, building-setback requirements, fire-safety standards and the other routine temporary-vendor conditions identified by staff; if stakes are used, vendors must coordinate with Tennessee One Call before installation.
