By Bill Short
The Millington Planning Commission has approved an amendment to Phase 4 of the Thornhill Estates residential subdivision south of Big Creek Church Road.
Commission members took the action during their July 19 regular monthly meeting on a motion offered by Mike Caruthers and seconded by Leanna Dagen.
The motion was passed by five affirmative votes, with Mayor Terry Jones and Curtis Park absent.
Charles Goforth, planning consultant for the city, said Phase 4 is the section west of Bucknell Road. He noted that it was approved some time ago as a Planned Development with certain lot sizes.
He also said the developers have “modified” the street pattern there.
“Originally, they had Thornhill Drive going all the way out to Highway 51 as a divided road,” he recalled. “But it doesn’t line up with any median openings in the road.”
Goforth said a traffic signal could not be installed there, because one has been proposed at Big Creek Church Road.
“So, we didn’t feel like that was a good connection to that road,” he noted. “It also could put a lot of traffic through the subdivision coming off there.”
Goforth said the lot sizes in Phase 4 were established when the Planned Development was approved. There will be 37 lots that are each 51 feet wide.
He noted that they are intended to be for “executive” homes for older residents who want small yards.
Goforth said the Phase 4 area is zoned R-3, Two-Family Residential, which would allow duplexes. But because of the Planned Development, it will have single-family detached homes.
“It will have a planting screen,” he noted. “And there will be a fence with brick columns along Bucknell to screen that area.”
The commission approved the amendment to Phase 4 with the following conditions:
(1) Details of the adequacy of the size of the detention basin must be provided at the Engineering Plat stage.
(2) If a cluster mailbox kiosk is required, a Site Plan must be submitted for the kiosk area.
(3) All the conditions of the previous approval still apply regarding lot dimensions and setbacks.
Although the U.S. Postal Service has declared that cluster mailbox kiosks must be installed in all new single-family subdivisions, Goforth said Congress has never approved anything that requires them.
He 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 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.”
