JOHN COFFELTEditor

A critical step in the building process for the proposed new Health Department facility was approved by the Coffee County Planning Commission during the June 25 meeting.

The site plan for the 11,211 square-foot facility to be located at the Joint Industrial Park on the New Tullahoma Highway was presented by Scot St. John.

“We are right on the front … of a larger parcel that extends back further,” St. John said. “We have coordinated with – and the (Interim County Mayor Dennis Hunt) has been involved in meetings with the state of Tennessee Department of Health, working through the floor plan and the site plan in general.”

St. John said his firm is pretty well finalized on the floor plan as well. He said the thinking was to get the site plan approved early and possibly bid out the site work separate from the building process.

The site plan includes 43 parking spaces and storm water retention on two sides of the building.

St. John noted the site plan is required to meet Coffee County zoning resolutions plus the Industrial Board’s required setbacks for buildings and parking areas.

The Industrial Board regulations concerning parking involves mostly setbacks for pavement and parking while the county’s zoning regulations set a number of parking spaces for a given structure.

The building was originally planned to share the property with a proposed Tennessee College of Applied Technology campus, which also had the site pushed into the side setback.

“When it was TCAT … decided not to come in here, we were able to loosen it up, shift it back and be off of those setbacks,” St. John said.

Zoning change recommended for Woodbury Hwy. car lot

The Planning Commission also recommended a request for rezoning to the County Commission for a rezoning request for a flag lot at 5443 Woodbury Highway from C-1 Commercial to C-2 Commercial.

The request will allow the site to shift from an automotive repair facility to automotive sales.

Uses for the current C-1 zoning, also shared by the locations adjacent neighbors, include residential dwellings, agricultural and light industrial uses, schools, churches and government facilities as well as general automotive, and warehouses.

The requested C-2 zoning restricts residential use, but allows for uses that include automotive sales, restaurants, retail trade, convenience retail sales and veterinary offices. C-2 is defined as an area where the principal use of the land is devoted to general and highway commercial activities along an arterial roadway.

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.