Planning Commission Delays Request to Split Quality Inn Property

Cookeville’s Planning Commission has delayed a request to split the Quality Inn property along South Jefferson Avenue into an independent lot.

Commission Member and City Councilman Eric Walker said the proposal brought up concerns with parking along a private drive off Neal Street.

“The buildings are separate and [the property owners] managed to come up with a parking plan,” Walker said, “but that’s going to entail a private drive and some different agreements. We just want to make sure that makes sense for the city, the properties, and the planning department.”

The private drive in question leads into several state offices including the Department of Labor and U.S. Fish and Wildlife.

Walker made the motion during Monday’s Planning Commission meeting to conduct a 30-day study on the driveway and the property.

“This originally came to us at the last planning work session as a study item, and it was moved at the first of the meeting to an action item,” Walker said. “We haven’t had the full period of study on it, so it’s kind of an issue where we’ll have to take a little more time to make sure we get it right instead of making a decision one way or another hastily.”

Walker said the study will allow the Commission to revisit the item at a later time once more information has been collected.