John Coffelt, Editor

The Manchester Planning Commission amended the city’s subdivision regulations during the Dec. 16 meeting to address placement of sidewalks in new subdivisions.

The matter came before the board after local developer Allan Howard approached the commission with the intent to locate sidewalks in an easement back off the roadway rather than in the right-of-way near the street in a Bashaw Creek Road subdivision.

Rather than OK an amendment to allow that leeway, the commission approved an amendment that removed a required two foot grass strip between the sidewalk and the curb.

The problem with placing the sidewalk back further from the curb, as Howard intended for a more upscale look, is that in higher density subdivisions with smaller lots, sidewalks are too close to the house and are often blocked by two cars parked in the driveway. 

“To me if you’re going to require a sidewalk and then have something blocking it, it goes against what you’re trying to do,” Mayor Joey Hobbs said.

The board noted that Howard could push the front setback deeper into the lot in order to locate the sidewalks where he wanted.

The commission removed a sentence in the subdivision regulation that mandated a two foot strip of grass near the curb.

Commission Member Ward Johnson questioned the value of the grass strip since new subdivisions have mailbox kiosks rather than individual street-side mailboxes.

One concern City Engineer Adam Carter had is that removing the sentence requiring the space could unintentionally allow a shift of the sidewalk closer to the house.

Carter said in a high density R-4 zone, the 20-foot setback would not be enough. He recommended language that would mandate sidewalks be in the right-of-way at least 25 feet from the front of the building.            

The commission unanimously approved the amendment following a brief public hearing that garnered no comments.

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.