JOHN COFFELTEditor

A handful of concerned citizens have recently voiced concerns to city officials about a proposed development at 814 S. Spring St. by owner Wesley Parker.

Parker appeared at the Aug. 21 Manchester Planning Commission meeting to request rezoning of his property from R-3 medium density to R-4 high density to allow for an additional two units to be added to the four-unit townhouse he intends to build on the site. Parker has been granted a special exception, a provision in which the Board of Zoning Appeals allows certain uses within a zone, which will allow him to build a multifamily dwelling instead of sub-dividing the lot and building two duplexes.

Neighbor Peggy Sue Escover-Gaultney expressed opposition to the development.

“My concern is – I’ve been a resident for 25 years,” Gaultney said. “We have a very narrow street on Spring Street. We have no sidewalks, have blind spots coming up and down. Speeding is phenomenal there, and I said every one of us takes our lives in hands trying to get out of our driveways.”

A potential blind spot at the top of the hill has been a reoccurring question related to the development. The rezoning request was postponed at the last planning meeting to allow Parker to bring his plans to this meeting to confirm that the drive will be located away from that hill.

Gaultney said that some of the neighbors were also confused about the city sign posted to announce the special exception request meeting and then one placed at the site to announce a rezoning request.

“We were waiting on blueprints and suddenly there’s a new sign and nobody’s saying anything,” she said.

During the meeting it was also questioned whether the rear setback would change with a rezoning.

Parker said he intended to put a chain-link fence with privacy strips along the rear of the property.

If rezoned to R-4, the rear setback would be the same as R-3, 15 feet.

Brought up first by Commission Member Ken Seuberling, county resident Sara Bradley questioned how the property is listed on the land use plan, a document that plans for future growth throughout the city.

“The way I read it…it’s invalid, it should be null and void by now and we’re wasting tax payer funding by continuing to advertise for the approval of a document that we have no minutes for its creation,” she said.

“The current land use plan shows this as medium density,” Bradley said.

Johnson said that the Board of Mayor and Aldermen have approved the changes to the zoning ordinances.

“We are just trying to implement those zoning ordinances that have been approved by the Board of Mayor and Aldermen,” he said.

Bradley said she wanted to have her concerns on the record and then accused the city of not recording the minutes correctly.

The Planning Commission in a split vote offered a negative recommendation for rezoning due to the property’s listing on the current land use plan. The commission, however, does not rezoning property. BOMA rezones property with two readings to change the zoning ordinance. Meeting minutes are approved by the members of a meeting by a majority vote, usually at the beginning of the meeting that follows.

Parker’s rezoning request will appear before BOMA at a future meeting.

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.