By Bill Short
The Millington Board of Mayor and Aldermen has approved Development Agreements for construction of the first two phases of the Huntington Estates residential subdivision.
Board members took the actions on separate motions during their Jan. 10 regular monthly meeting. Each motion was passed by six affirmative votes, with Alderman Thomas McGhee absent.
Huntington Estates LLC owns 14.99 acres and Huntington Estates Phase 2 owns 16.55 acres southeast of the intersection of Shelby and Quito roads.
Charles Goforth, planning consultant for the city, has said the planned subdivision is “almost half-divided.”
Phase 1, the eastern half, is zoned R-2, Medium-Density Residential, and Phase 2, the western half, is zoned R-1, Low-Density Residential. Phase 1 will have 50 lots, and Phase 2 will have 52 lots.
At its Jan. 18 meeting, the Millington Planning Commission approved Alternative Minimum Bond amounts of $504,720.77 for Phase 1 and $503,382.76 for Phase 2.
The commission approved the Design Plat for the subdivision at its March 2021 meeting.
Huntington Estates will tie in on the south to the Woodmere and White Oak subdivisions.
Because Field Oak and Hickory Meadow are both 60-foot “collector” roads south of the subdivision, Goforth has said the “circulation” in there is very good.
He has noted that Hickory Meadow Road dead-ends at the corner of Lions Park. So, a portion of the park will have to be taken for extension of the road.
Goforth has said the “typical” R-1 lot will be 80-by-140 feet and the R-2 lot 65-by-125 feet.
He has acknowledged that Royster Creek on the east side of the subdivision has a flood plain, where the floodway is contained within the “ditch.” But because it extends out slightly to the “fingers” of the ditches, it will have to be addressed.
At its July 2021 meeting, the planning commission approved the Engineering Plats for both phases with several conditions.
Goforth said the water and sewer plans for both phases must be reviewed and approved by Tim Verner, the city’s engineering consultant. Fire hydrant and other water and sewer details must be consistent with the Millington Subdivision Regulations.
Phase 1 will cover the extension of Hickory Meadow Road “up to and improvements to” Shelby Road.
Phase 2 will extend Field Oak to the west and tie into the White Oak subdivision.
Among the conditions that must be met for Phase 1 are:
(1) The area identified on the plat as common open space must be dedicated to Lions Park.
(2) A detailed Site Plan must be submitted for any entrance treatments and landscaping, a cluster mailbox site, the improvements to Lions Park to replace the trail, and the parking removed by the road extension.
(3) A new driveway must be provided into the park across from the street and the on-street parking removed.
(4) The common open space designations and the right of way on the cluster mailbox lot must be corrected.
(5) An overall drainage map must be provided that indicates the areas planned to be drained to the detention basin and the area to bypass the basin.
Among the conditions that must be met for Phase 2 are:
(1) A cluster mailbox kiosk must be located on a street going to the north.
(2) A 40-foot setback along Shelby Road must be labeled on the plat.
(3) A temporary turnaround must be provided at the end of “Street A” before that street is extended into the next section.
Although the U.S. Postal Service has declared that cluster mailbox kiosks must be installed in all new single-family subdivisions, Congress has never approved anything that requires them.
Goforth has noted that 8th District U.S. Rep. David Kustoff is a “signatory” to the proposed Easy Access to Mail Act that has been introduced in Congress.
It would give cities the right to determine whether they want cluster mailboxes before the post office could require them. So, Goforth has said residents who oppose them should call Kustoff’s office.
“Even though we’ve got to plan for them right now,” he acknowledged, “we’re hoping that something will be done on that.”
