By Katie Northcott, News Director
On Thursday, Oct. 23, the Shelbyville Planning Commission denied a 63-unit site plan, deferring the project to its November meeting.
The Summit View Townhome site plan first appeared before the Commission at its September meeting. The site plan was brought back before the Commission in October after undergoing revisions. Notably, the developer lowered the number of proposed townhome apartment units from 66 to 63. One of the Commission’s major concerns was that the proposal barely met minimum open space requirements.
City Council member Josh Blevins was concerned that the proposal still does not meet open space requirements. Commissioner Dawn Gonzalez agreed.
“They didn’t give us a plan with open space marked on it. They gave us the numbers,” Blevins said. “I didn’t do a bunch of measurements, but I’m seeing a six-acre parcel there. I don’t see 2.8 acres of open space there.”
A data table in the proposal says that 47% of the property will be open space with 16.5 % of the property being usable space. However, the plans do not include a diagram of what parts of the project the applicant considers open space. City ordinances require a minimum of 30% of the property remain open space and 15% of the property remain usable open space.
“There’s literally no front yard, no back yard. Nothing,” Gonzalez said. “It’s basically back-to-back housing, crammed in there like sardine cans. And it does not offer anything for children.”
Staff had additional concerns that led to the denial of the site plan. The plan shows a retaining wall in a public right-of-way. The revised plan should move the retaining wall out of the right-of-way.
Additionally, phase two of the plan, which includes 34 of the 63 units, cannot receive building permits until the sewer moratorium is lifted on that area. The revised plan should reflect that fact.
The applicant is also considering installing an injection well to help with water run-off. To install the well, the applicant needs to apply for permits from the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
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