News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Putnam Planning Commission deferred a decision Tuesday night on a new 850 lot subdivision planned off Highway 70 between Cookeville and Baxter due to utility and sewer concerns.
Board members had concerns with small lots and utility lines locations. Commission Member David Mattson said he is concerned that the majority of the lots are too small.
“Based on the numbers here we’ve got roughly 700 lots that are 55 feet wide or smaller,” Mattson said. “So I don’t think mathematically it works to get all your utilities in on these 700 lots.”
Commissioners asked the developer to configure a diagram of how the utility lines would lay out on a single plot. As for the sewer concerns, Bryant said he would try to work with TDEC and have a detailed soil investigation.
Putnam County Planning Director Kevin Rush said that the subdivision concept for the sewer density is well thought out.
“They have thought this plan out in my opinion well,” Rush said. “You know the density is well below when you put in your own sewer system than what it could be.”
M2 Design Group Founder Matt Bryant said he made some revisions to the subdivision layout based on concerns that were brought up in the first meeting this winter.
“This is a lot of lots,” Bryant said. “And right now we are just trying, like I said get to a point where we know how many lots we have to work with, and then absolutely if we can’t fit the utilities in there then we’ve got to make them wider.”
The so-called “Scott Farm Project” is located on Ditty Road near Burgess Falls Road. Rush said county leaders met since the first presentation from Bryant on some of the issues related to the project.
In talking to T-DOT, Rush said a traffic study would need to be completed to determine what kind of road work needs to be done. Putnam County School officials said they would not be opposed to having an additional school within the subdivision.
The Fire Department said the station in the subdivision would replace another station which could be used by another agency. EMS said they can handle 700+ calls per year with the new station development and would need to hire eight additional paramedics to accommodate staff needs.
The commission unanimously voted to defer the decision on initial site approval until the next meeting.
