News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Putnam County Regional Planning Commission got a first look Tuesday night at a 560-acre subdivision proposed for Burgess Falls Road and Ditty Road.
M2 Design Group Founder Matt Bryant said Scott Family Farm property would contain some 850 lots, based on the current design. The property also contains a 16-acre section that the Scott Family hopes to donate or sell to the Putnam County School system for the construction of a new school, Bryant said. Planning Commission Members cited concerns with the traffic the subdivision would bring to Ditty Road.
“As people are slowing down and approaching to pull into this development, you want the traffic on Ditty Road to be able to, you know, operate in a safe manner,” Bryant said. “Usually, the best way to accomplish that is, depending on the side you’re coming from, either a deceleration lane or a turn lane.”
Bryant said road improvements are almost a guarantee. He said the development contains four types of detached units, all on plots of different sizes. Tuesday’s overview will be followed by a more detailed presentation in June.
Bryant said he hopes to have approval from the Commission before taking the next steps. Commissioners voted to table a decision until June when they can have Bryant return with a modified plan that addresses their concerns.
Bryant said the units are clustered to create large open areas for amenities like a pool, a community center, or playgrounds.
“I think we provided four different product types, right,” Bryant said. “To get those different price points and everything, so if you guys would be open to a townhome product, I think we would be open to including that in our product mix. I think we have plenty of areas here where we could sort of swap out products.”
Planning Director Kevin Rush said some of the smaller units are separated by just 15 feet, which could create a fire hazard. He said there are ways to mitigate that like extra space between every 10 houses. Another commissioner said extra safety measures would need to be taken if a school is added to the allotted space outlined in the design, which has extended road frontage on Ditty Road.
“There’s only like 14 lots out of all 850 that front directly onto Ditty Road,” Rush said. “We know that TDOT has gotten much more strict when it comes to driveway permits and not allowing multiple houses that are right after each other to have a driveway cut on a state route, because it’s all about traffic flow.”
Bryant said there could be concerns with implementing utilities due to elevation, but he feels convinced that utility districts have the capacity to provide utilities in the development.
