By Bill Short
The Millington Planning Commission has approved the Engineering and Final Plats submitted for construction of an Express Oil Change business at 8546 Highway 51 North.
Commission members took the actions on separate motions during their Oct. 18 regular monthly meeting.
Each motion was passed by six affirmative votes, with member Curtis Park absent.
Charles Goforth, planning consultant for the city, said the planning staff had reviewed a Site Plan submitted for Express Oil Change, which the commission approved earlier this year.
He noted that the business will be constructed on Lot 3 in the Pure Millington subdivision between Zaxby’s and where the Cook Out restaurant will occupy the former Dairy Queen building.
Because Express Oil Change will not use its entire lot, Goforth said it has decided to sell off the back portion of it. So, it will have an access easement.
He said the business will use the existing driveway on Highway 51 that serves the Zaxby’s restaurant and will extend it west to Creek Mill Road.
Because curbs and gutters are already installed on both streets, Goforth said the only public improvements necessary will be the extension of water and sewer lines from the front lot to the back one.
The commission approved the Engineering Plat with the following conditions:
(1) The engineer must submit a revised Site Plan that removes the dumpster area from Lot 3A and relocates it to Lot 3B.
(2) The dumpster must be at least 10 feet from the property line between Lots 3A and 3B.
The Final Plat was approved as submitted.
Goforth has said the applicant will construct two buildings. Each will have a “block” on the bottom, brick on the front and a blue metal roof.
He has noted that the front building will be a “drive-through” structure with a “base” where the employees will work below the customers’ cars. It is also where the “tire work” will primarily be done.
The rear building will be more of a “mechanics” shop.
Goforth has said the front building will be 2,200 square feet and the rear one approximately 3,400.
He has noted that the applicant will construct a stormwater detention basin “right below” the former Dairy Queen lot, and the drainage will be piped from there.
Goforth has said this business is not open at night. So, the only lighting shown on the Site Plan will be aimed “downward” on the back of the building to provide security for the employees’ parking lot.
There will be no lighting in the front parking lot for the customers.
The initial Site Plan was approved at the commission’s May 17 meeting with several conditions, some of which the applicant had already completed.
(1) A larger “curb radius” had been provided for at the Highway 51 entrance by removing one parking space.
(2) The exit driveway onto Creek Mill Road will not be a curb radius, but it must meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
(3) Although a 5-foot-wide handicapped parking space is shown on the Site Plan, it must be a “van-accessible” space, which requires an 8-foot-wide lane for the striped area.
(4) The revised grading and drainage plans must be completed by the applicant and approved by the city engineer.
(5) A revised landscape plan and “photometric” plan was provided for the two buildings.
