Dollar General request leads to rules change

Property owner Roger Smith and real estate agent Monte Turner asked planners for a variance which would allow a store to be built at 3225 U.S. 231 North using existing septic system field lines on another part of Smith's property. A variance is necessary because the county's subdivision regulations normally require that the field lines for each newly-subdivided lot fall within the borders of that lot. In this case, the field lines would be on a different parcel than the store.

Planning Commission chairman Kennon Threet said the field line rule was adopted with residential subdivisions in mind. Too many developers, he said, were creating residential subdivisions with a confusing array of field lines that were on different properties from the homes they would serve. In one case, said Threet, a 30-lot subdivision was submitted for which 10 of the lots had off-site field lines.

Planners said that a new store in Deason would benefit the area and would provide the county with sales tax revenue that wouldn't have to be shared with any city or town government. But there was an extended discussion about whether it was a good idea for the county to set a precedent by granting a variance from the established rule. The planning rules allow variances to be granted in cases of extraordinary hardship or where topographical conditions would make it otherwise impossible to comply with the rules.

Planners tried to work out a solution within the rules -- for example, if Smith were to sell Turner a lot large enough to include the field lines. But that would take up all of Smith's road frontage, blocking Smith off from U.S. 231.

In the end, planners decided to grant Smith and Turner a variance. Voting in favor were Threet, Tony Smith, Brent Stacy, Chuck Craig, Frank Nichols and Michael Watson. Alan Gill was opposed. Linda Yockey, David Crump, Wayne Simons and Venson Hawkins were absent.

After granting the variance, planners voted unanimously to consider a rewrite of the subdivision regulations exempting any future commercial developments from the field-lines-on-site rule. A proposed rules change will be drawn up and presented to the planning commission next month.

The decision on the field lines is only the first hurdle for the 9,000-square-foot store. Next, Smith or Turner will have to request a re-zoning from A-1 (agriculture) to C-1 (commercial). The planning commission will hear that request first, once it has been submitted, but the ultimate decision will be made by Bedford County Board of Commissioners. Some planners suggested that Smith's entire property be re-zoned, including his equipment business, but that property is the former home of a race track, which drew objections from some neighbors when it was in operation. For that reason, other planners said it might be better if only the store site were to be rezoned.

Regional planning

Planners deferred action on requests from Shelbyville, Wartrace and Bell Buckle to adopt planning regions which would go beyond their own borders.

Under a regional planning system, anyone seeking a zoning change for property outside the city limits, but within the borders of the city's planning region, would first go through the city planning commission rather than the county planning commission. However, the ultimate up-or-down vote on that rezoning would still be made by the county commission, not the city council. The city would be able to set subdivision regulations within the planning region.

The idea of a regional planning commission is based on the idea that the city has an interest in influencing the development of areas which it might eventually annex.

Regional planning is a completely separate issue from the current proposals to redraw each city's Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) in the county's Public Chapter 1101 long-range land use plan. However, there is one issue connecting the two proposals: a city's planning region can't be larger than its UGB, so changing the size of a city's UGB could affect the potential size of at city's planning region.

Threet said he owns land which is within Shelbyville's proposed planning region and would feel that if he fell under the city's planning control, he would feel that he was being regulated without proper representation. It was pointed out, however, that if Shelbyville were to adopt regional planning, it would have to add two representatives from the planning region outside the city to its planning commission.

Threet said the existing system should be sufficient and that the county planning commission is ready to discuss any problems with city officials.

Planners deferred action on the planning region requests pending further study.

Engineering contract

The planners also deferred action on a contract with Jerome Dempsey of Dempsey, Dilling & Associates to provide engineering consulting services. State Planner Pat Schipani presented a model contract from another county, but it hadn't yet been customized to the specific local situation. Dempsey also said he had a model contract he uses with some of his other customers. The county attorney will be asked to review the contracts and a final agreement will be brought back before the planners for approval.