John Coffelt, Editor

During the Sept. 2 meeting, the Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen failed to give a 12 acre annex a zoning designation as required.

In a repeat of the annex of the July meeting when the board failed to zone two annexed properties near Gilley Circle, BOMA again failed to reach a consensus this time for the 12-acre property owned by Curl Properties.

Board approved the annex and accepted the plans of service (which detail how each city department will provide services to the property) 5-1 with Alderman Julie Anderson casting the dissenting vote.

Yet the first reading of the ordinance that would have zoned the property as R-4 high density, to match the city’s Land Use Plan and the recommendation of the Manchester Planning Commission failed to garner enough votes with in a 3-2-1 vote with  Anderson and Alderman Donny Parsley voting no and Alderman James Threet abstaining.

The Curl property, that was split zoned, with the majority formerly residing in the county Urban Growth Boundary and zoned RS-1 and a small, acre-sized lot in the city zoned R-4, failed to be annexed in Oct. of 2022.     

Adjacent landowner Amanda Monte said none of the concerns she voiced in 2022 had been addressed. She said the development has only one egress (the second potential right-of-way is landlocked in part by Montes property). She also cites sewer problems and school overcrowding as reasons that the city should block the project.

“I completed the due diligence to show that this type of development in this particular area of Manchester does not have the adequate infrastructure, sufficient urban services or the support of this community to pass this annexation or rezoning to a high density residential area,” she said.

Representing Curl, Surveyor Nickolas Northcutt said upgrades to the city sewers have been made in the intervening years and that Curl would have to bring certain roadways up to city standards.

“These (roadways) all have the status of being accepted city streets regardless of their current condition,” Northcutt said.

He said the requested zoning match what the board had approved for the area in the Land Use Plan, a document that maps out planned growth for the city. The adjacent properties are also designated for High Density Mobile Home on the Land Use Plan.

The resolution to annex failed in 2022 2-4 with Alderman Anderson and Parsley and then-Aldermen Bob Bellamy, Alderman Hobbs voting nay.         

John has been with the Manchester Times since May 2011. John has won Tennessee Press Association awards for Best News Photo and placed in numerous other categories. John is a 1994 graduate of Tullahoma High School, a graduate of Motlow State Community College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English from Middle Tennessee State University. He lives in Tullahoma, enjoys painting, dancing and exploring the outdoors.