John Coffelt, Editor

A proposed Ragsdale Road major subdivision on just under 59 acres was postponed until the March meeting due to stream flow data not being listed on the conceptual plan.

Surveyor Nicholas Northcutt said in his 25 years of experience that data has never been needed on his plans. Further, members present said they did not know how to use that information. The Coffee County Codes Department recommended the approval of the plan based on it fulfilling all the requirements.

“In 25 years of submitting plats, I’ve never put preliminary volumes on a plat before this last month, but that can be a hang up, that can be easily addressed,” Northcutt said.

“This is a pretty small thing what this is getting killed for,” he said. “I’m pretty disappointed. We can make those revisions and get it back in.”

Northcutt said the property is unique in that it was not in the Urban Growth Boundary but was adjacent to the Manchester City Limits. Northcutt called the development cut and dry otherwise.

Each of the lots are not eligible annexation or city sewer because of the subdivision’s location outside the UGB. 

The property is owned by Nicholas and Melody Graham. Their legal representative, Garth Seagrove, said that since the development application was already processed prior to the recommendation for a moratorium on new major subdivisions, it should still be heard by the commission.

Northcutt said the lots qualified as being 8/10s an acre because there is adequate fire flow to the area.

A concerned citizen brought the omission of the flow data to the commission. Northcutt said the matter was a punch list item. Plans are routinely approved contingent on the completion of punch list items.

“Typically, the way the process works is that if there were items like that, it doesn’t kill the project. It’s just called a punch list item that we can easily address tomorrow morning,” he said.

“There’s a lot that goes into this. If there’s something that the commission sees that needs revisions, that’s when we address them. If you give us revisions and don’t give us the chance to revise them, it’s not a very fair system.”

Director of Codes Kirt Gray said that he’s seen the site engineer’s data. 

“I have talked to Kenny (Sadler) about this. We can look at this tomorrow and bring it back next month,” Gray said.

The motion to deny until the item is addressed passed unanimously. 

The February Planning Commission meeting was heavily attended by a group residents concerned with a major subdivision preliminary site plan that was approved at the January meeting and those interested in a proposed moratorium on rural subdivisions.

The conceptual plan shows less than a preliminary plan. Until recently, conceptual plans were handled in-house by the codes department.

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.