News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Cookeville City Council approved a rezoning for a 25-acre parcel located on Buck Mountain Road.
The property at 2730 Buck Mountain Road can now be used for single-family detached dwellings, with a minimum lot size set at 10,000 square feet. At the public hearing for the rezoning Thursday night, South Dry Valley Road resident Ralph Mullins said the prospect of having some 80 units is too much for the area.
“That part of the city is a very rural, beautiful part of the city, and I would hate to see that change with high-density housing,” Mullins said.
The Cookeville City Council approved extending sewer to the property last year. The land was previously zoned RS-20 which allowed low-density single-family housing without sewer services at a minimum lot size of 20,000 square feet.
Owner Thomas Cooper said he wanted the rezoning in part for smaller lot sizes to encourage more affordable housing.
“A gentleman that is on the opposition, he called me and I asked him what he thought would be an appropriate size and he said ‘Around an acre and a half,'” Cooper said. “Well, if I have to put an acre and a half lots, trust me, they are not going to be reasonably priced lots. And if they’re too expensive, then I won’t be able to sell them (…) We can’t huge lots out there and provide medium to low-cost lots. It’s just not going to happen.”
