Commission defers Smyrna Senior Citizens Center site plan to coordinate road alignment with TDOT

The commission deferred action on the proposed Smyrna Senior Citizens Center site plan to allow the town and TDOT to work through a potential road‑alignment change and to let the nonprofit revise the site to reflect any future right‑of‑way.

Staff reported a need to resolve whether an existing road cut on the major thoroughfare could be relocated to provide a better access point; staff said their preliminary conversations with TDOT were positive but a formal application and engineering would be required. Steve Steele, co‑chair of the capital campaign for the senior center, said the nonprofit was grateful for the town providing the land and indicated the group would rework the building placement if the town needed to reserve a future right‑of‑way. "We are a nonprofit charitable organization… The town owns the land… We're gonna build the building," Steele said in describing the partnership and the campaign urgency; he added the organization has more than 900 members and current space limits.

A commissioner moved to defer so staff could coordinate with TDOT, the lot lines could be adjusted and the seniors could resubmit a site plan that reflects the potential future access. The motion to defer with staff comments passed by voice vote. Staff and the seniors will coordinate a resubmittal once access is clarified; the commission noted deferral will likely require modifying the lease and site parcel documentation because the town owns the land and the right‑of‑way reservation could change parcel lines.

What happens next: staff will pursue TDOT coordination on the access point; the seniors’ capital campaign will rework the site layout and submit revised drawings for commission review.