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After being postponed in a prior meeting, a Planned Mixed-Unit (PM-U) development, Summerlin, proposed to the Planning Commission during was recommended favorably to the Board of Mayor and Alderman.

Commission Chairman Paul Schwer opened the public hearing for Summerlin, and Chris Rudd, representative of Beacon Acquisitions LLC and the proposed PM-U, spoke first and was followed by several Tullahoma residents.

Rudd said that Summerlin was being submitted as previously presented, with a slight change. The entrance to the PM-U, caused much blowback from residents of Ledford Mill Road, the road which would provide entrance to a development, which when complete, would house nearly 1,000 residences, as well as an area for businesses.

“We have heard significant feedback from the residents of the Ledford Mill area and at their request, we have agreed to close off the entrance point on Ledford Mill Road,” he said.

Bradley Holt, one of the authors of a petition protesting the Ledford Mill entrance that got 123 signatures, spoke first among the citizen commentators.

“Myself and two other petitioners had a call with Mr. Rudd last Thursday evening to express our concerns directly,” said Holt. “He expressed a strong desire to understand our community and its citizens concerns so that he could build the development in a way that harmonizes with what we currently have.”

Several other Ledford Mill residents expressed their support of the PM-U development after the change, including Matthew Bird and John Patsimas, who both spoke previously. Another resident expressed continuing concern about the traffic the added PM-U might cause, as well as the concern of cost of living at the PM-U.

Senior Planner Charles Rush addressed the commission and gave the staff recommendation of passing a favorable recommendation on to BoMA.

Commissioner Marvin Sellers recommended that the apartments be “mainly brick” so as to not bring down the value of the surrounding homes. Commissioner Alexander Rice recommended that the apartments in the proposed development be made up of “75% brick.”

Rudd said that they were planning to make the development attractive, but asked that they take the requirement down to 50% brick.

Sellers made a motion that the development be made of “a minimum of 50% brick” and the rest of some sort of masonry product, and Rice seconded.

Mayor Ray Knowis, newly self-appointed to replace previously appointed Mayoral Representative Daniel Berry, commented that the marketplace needed to be considered when adding requirements of that nature.

“The marketplace needs to be considered,” said Knowis. “Because when you start imposing certain design requirements, or architectural standards, it’s going to drive the price up for the people that will occupy these apartments.”

He expressed that “we may be shooting ourselves in the foot” if they “try to design the development for him.”

Rudd said “The reality of the situation is that cost gets translated down the line.”

“You would say that if we tell you it’s got to be 50% stone or brick and the rest of it masonry products, it would cost more?” asked Knowis.

Rudd said yes, and added that the requirement would add “a few hundred thousand dollars of cost.”

“With inflation the way it is now, we’re doing everything we can to control costs because costs are just completely out of control, quite frankly,” he said.

With that, Sellers withdrew his motion. Rice made a motion to require 100% masonry products on the exterior of the apartments. Sellers seconded.

Commissioner Andy Hall asked if maybe some concessions could be made so that the requirement was not totally 100% masonry product. Rudd agreed, providing the example of a porch ceiling, saying they would most likely use some kind of wood.

Rice withdrew his motion and made a new one to require a veneer designed from masonry product. Sellers seconded. Schwer said he agreed with the Mayor, that “I feel like we’re kind of driving decisions that need not be driven.”

Rice’s motion was put to a vote, and it died out three to two with Hall, Knowis and Schwer opposing.

Sellers raised some concern about the impact on the city, especially regarding a new fire station that would be required, and he didn’t want citizens’ taxes to be affected. Knowis told him that the incoming development would not affect city taxes. Schwer backed him up, saying that multipurpose developments generally have a high return, and added that it looks as if “we need a new fire station anyway.”

The conversation closed, and Schwer prompted the board to make a motion regarding the purchase of land for a new fire station.

Hall made a motion that the city “buy land of similar value” to the development. Sellers seconded. The amendment passed unanimously.

Schwer then called the approval of the recommendation of accepting the proposed PM-U development to the Board of Mayor and Alderman, which also passed unanimously.

On Monday, the Board of Mayor and Alderman voted to set a public hearing for rezoning the development on Oct. 9.