Planning commission backs Riggs Hwy mini‑storage expansion in 4–1 vote

Chairman David Klein said the Planning Commission voted to forward a Major Plan Amendment recommendation to the Sumner County Commission for the Riggs Hwy 31W PUD, which would add a 20‑foot‑wide, roughly 6,000‑square‑foot storage building on a 2.48‑acre site at 4624 Hwy 31W in Cottontown.

County Planner Sydny Simpson told commissioners the request is the second amendment to the PUD. "The additional square footage triggers the requirement of approval as a Major Plan Amendment," Simpson said, and staff verified required public‑notice and neighborhood meeting steps were completed. Simpson reviewed the PUD history: the original January 2024 PUD approved six buildings totaling about 20,000 square feet; an administrative amendment in October 2024 reduced that to three buildings and about 19,500 square feet.

Richard Graves, the applicant's representative, said construction was completed under the earlier approvals and that the owner now seeks to add a building because occupancy has reached demand levels. "They are right at 70%," Graves said when asked about current occupancy of the existing buildings. He told the commission the pad for the new building had been anticipated in earlier grading work and that mature trees and site slope informed the landscaping approach.

Commissioners queried safety, drainage and landscaping. Jon Belcher noted a perceived gap in the evergreen buffer and asked why decorative trees were offset; Simpson said staff judged the existing mature trees and slope met buffer intent. On traffic and safety, Simpson said staff did not recommend a traffic study, noting the added square footage was not substantially beyond what the original PUD allowed. Graves said stormwater and drainage details would be addressed in a future commercial site plan submittal.

Vice Chairman Chrissi Miller expressed concern about allowing additional square footage and said she could not support the 6,000‑square‑foot addition: "I don't like it," she said. Adam Issa moved to recommend approval to the County Commission with conditions requiring a commercial site plan for any future construction and zoning compliance certificates for future users; Ron Strahle seconded. The motion passed 4–1 (Issa, Strahle, Elsten, Belcher aye; Miller nay).

Next steps: the Major PUD amendment will go to the County Commission's Legislative Committee for two readings and then to the full County Commission; staff noted the County Commission could return the item to Planning if additional review is needed. If construction proceeds, the applicant must submit a commercial site plan addressing drainage, irrigation and other checklist items before a Certificate of Occupancy is issued.

Authorities and precedent referenced in the staff report included Sexton v. Anderson County, 587 S.W.2d 663 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1979).