After more than three hours of debate, the city commission deferred the rezoning of about 17 acres on which Mufreesboro’s TDK Construction wants to build a 248-unit apartment complex, The Reserve.
Developer Ross Bradley said he was “frustrated” when the three-story complex was not rezoned from B-4 (Arterial Business) to R-5 (High Density Residential). Between 50 and 60 people – the majority of whom were strongly opposed to the plan – asked question after question and asked that commissioners hold off on making a decision.
“Unless people are teleporting in and out of there, there’s going to be more traffic,” said Curt Caveney, a property owner who lives near the proposed development area. “I looked at the city’s comprehensive plan, and I found that these kind of structures should be located on arterial highways near facilities such as Wal-Mart or grocery stores. I’m asking the commission to go back and look at whether this is really what’s meant for the city’s land use plan.”
The roughly $25 million proposed project at the corner of West Oakland Avenue and West Mountainview Road is expected to bring the city about $150,000 in property taxes annually.
Mayor Jeff Banyas asked for more detailed sketches and information, and he also said he would not vote for the development if the company did not pay for needed road improvements.
The plan would divide the units into 10 buildings, each being three-story structures. “To me, the greatest impact is the number of units per acre,” said David Sibley. “I really think the density that’s planned out there is more than I would want to see in the landscape of that area.”
City Engineer Alan Cantrell ran through a detailed report of what road repairs were expected in that area, including six different projects. Cantrell told commissioners that about $300,000 worth of road improvements would be needed if the developent went in.
“When you have more capacity (lanes), speeds are going to go up,” said City Manager Pete Peterson. “So there’s going to be some trade-offs.”
Bradley agreed to hold the unit count to 248, a number that could have risen to 347 under current zoning laws. Still, the arguments only grew stronger. Commissioner Ralph Van Brocklin said he would feel more comfortable if the count stayed at 248, but he also had to take a moment to calm the heated discussion. “My job as a commissioner is to listen to you and take what you have to say into account. But my job also is to do what’s best for Johnson City.”