By Bill Short
The Millington Municipal Planning Commission has voted to recommend that the Board of Mayor and Aldermen re-zone Commerce Place from Agricultural to Commercial.
Commission members took the action during their June 15 regular monthly meeting on a motion offered by Leanna Dagen and seconded by Brenda Barber.
The motion was passed by four affirmative votes, with Mike Caruthers and Curtis Park absent, and Vice Chairman Brett Morgan recusing himself.
Charles Goforth, planning consultant for the city, said Commerce Place is located in the northeast corner of Highway 51 and state Route 385.
He noted that the “entire property” was originally intended to be part of the Resiliency Project.
But the owner and Shelby County have worked together and agreed to “leave out” two parcels that front on Highway 51.
Goforth said the property is primarily zoned A, Agricultural, with a flood plain overlay.
“The very northern tip is zoned Floodway, which cannot be changed,” he noted. “So, the only area that we’re dealing with is the flood plain portion of it.”
Goforth said the two “out-parcels” will be accessible by a road that the county will construct through the middle of the property as a part of its Resiliency Project. And a park to be maintained by the city of Millington will be located immediately to the east.
The county and the parcels’ owner have requested that they be re-zoned B-2, General Commercial, while retaining the flood plain overlay.
Goforth called that “appropriate,” because the property to the north across Big Creek and west across Highway 51 is also zoned B-2.
“We also think it’s possible that the flood plain will be dropped some because of the flood work that’s being done upstream from this point,” he noted. “But before the property could ever be used, it would have to be filled to above the 100-year storm.”
Goforth said the maps prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency would also have to be amended to show that the property was no longer in a flood area.
At its March 16 meeting, the commission approved the Site Plan and Final Plat for the Big Creek, Shelby County National Disaster Resilience Project.
The Site Plan is divided into three areas:
Area 1, which extends from Highway 51 to Raleigh-Millington Road, will be maintained by the city. It will have an amphitheater, stage, restroom building, soccer fields, parking and a disc golf course.
Area 2, which extends from Raleigh-Millington to Singleton Parkway, will be more of a natural recreation area, with wetlands and wildlife observation. It will include trails, a shelter and a boardwalk in the environmentally sensitive area.
Area 3, extending from Singleton to Sledge Road, will include wetlands and trails and is the primary flood control component of the project.
