Residents question Harrison Road townhomes
Thomas Krajewski, vice president of land development for Homestead Land Holdings LLC, requested the property be rezoned from Agricultural to Attached Single-Family Residential (R-4) during a workshop at the Farragut Municipal Planning Commission’s Thursday, Aug. 20, meeting. FMPC took no action on the request.
“We’re pursuing a community for Saddlebrook Properties,” a sister company of Homestead Land Holdings, Krajewski said.
Farragut Community Development Director Mark Shipley said the property is at the northwest intersection of Harrison Road and North Watt Road. He added the property is “entirely in the Town limits and currently has two dwelling units, a barn and some accessory structures.”
Shipley said the property currently has access onto Harrison Road.
“The property is zoned Agricultural, which has a 5-acre minimum lot size per dwelling unit and is currently used for agricultural purposes, with a farm pond on the southeast corner,” Shipley said. “Some wooded areas are situated along the northern portion of the property.”
He pointed out R-4 zoning would allow a density of up to six dwelling units per acre.
“In terms of the existing Future Land Use Map, the rezoning request would fall within the Low Density Residential Land Use with a density range from three to six dwelling units per acre,” Shipley said. “Thus, if the rezoning moves forward, a request to amend the Future Land Use Map will also be needed.”
If changed, “the development density for this property will be substantially greater than its current zoning designation,” he said. “You are going from Agricultural to Attached Single Family, which is basically townhome development.
“Improvements will be required to Harrison Road consistent with the Town’s Subdivision Regulations, and those will need to be factored into the rezoning,” Shipley continued. “Harrison Road is classified as a local collector and, if rezoned, the development will likely have access onto both Harrison Road and North Watt Road.
“There would also be a connection that would need to be made to the property to the north,” he said. “As part of the preliminary plat for the property to the north, an access was stubbed into the property that is being requested for a rezoning.”
Shipley said FMPC also should consider that the Town is in the early stages of updating its Comprehensive Land Use Plan and existing future land-use designations.
“The existing future land use map designation for this property was based on the property being adjacent to a Mixed-Use Neighborhood land use to the north and proximity to North Watt Road and McFee Park,” he said.
“Whether this rezoning is premature given the pending update to the Comprehensive Land Use Plan is a matter for the Planning Commission to evaluate as part of the initial review of this request,” Shipley added.
Two neighboring residents, Gary Kobialka and Mitchell Thomas, voiced concerns about the proposed density and its potential impact on Harrison and North Watt roads.
Kobialka, who lives across the street from the property, said Harrison Road currently is a substandard road.
“I am mainly interested in the density of the development,” he said. “I think
townhomes is a little much for what Harrison Road can handle and also for what Watt Road can handle.
“Right now, there are only about 10 residents on Harrison Road,” Kobialka said. “We’re not against development, but I’m against high-density development.
“Getting out from Harrison Road to Watt Road is difficult because of all the traffic that comes from the highway [Kingston Pike],” he said. “So, I’m concerned about the impact to the existing residents. What will happen to their property and their access to their homes?
“I just want to make this a good place for the people who live here now and for the people who will live here,” Kobialka added. “The developers are not the people who are going to live here.”
Thomas echoed Kobialka’s concerns about density, adding, “My biggest concern is the impact on Harrison Road, as well as Watt Road.
“Harrison Road is already used as a shortcut a lot now,” Thomas said. “My concern is with the additional townhomes and the expansion of that road, the people who will use that.
“Cars kind of already [are] speeding 50 miles per hour when the speed limit is 15 miles per hour,” he added.
“When we evaluated what zoning to request, we considered the various residential zones,” Krajewski said. “We also considered the fact this was listed as medium-density area in the future land use map.
“I understand that calls for six to eight units an acre under the current plan,” he said. “When we evaluated the zones, R-4 allows for three to six units an acre.
“We thought that, as Mark [Shipley] said, you know, you’ll yield a little less than that, but it could yield up to six, which is more in line with the density plan that exists here for this property,” Krajewski said. “We thought the closest zone that matched the future land use map was R-4.”
In other business, FMPC approved a site plan for a proposed dental office on a 1-acre lot at 11232 Outlet Drive.
“This site plan involves a proposed dental office building slightly less than 7,000 square feet and to be constructed to the east of the Echo Suites Hotel that is currently under construction along Outlet Drive,” Shipley said.
