By Bill Short
The Millington Planning Commission has approved the bond amounts for Phases 1 and 2 of the Huntington Estates subdivision southeast of the intersection of Shelby and Quito roads.
Commission members took the action during their Oct. 18 regular monthly meeting on a motion offered by Leanna Dagen and seconded by Brenda Barber.
The motion was passed by six affirmative votes, with member Curtis Park absent.
Charles Goforth, planning consultant for the city, said the bond amount is $2,683,253.94 for Phase 1 and $1,767,576.10 for Phase 2.
The commission approved the Design Plat for the subdivision at its March 15 meeting.
Goforth said Huntington Estates will consist of 283 residential lots on 94.25 acres. He noted that it will tie in on the south to the Woodmere and White Oak subdivisions.
Because Field Oak and Hickory Meadows are both 60-foot “collector” roads south of the subdivision, Goforth said the “circulation” in there is very good.
He noted that Hickory Meadows 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 said the planned subdivision is “almost half-divided.” The western half is zoned R-1, Low-Density Residential, and the eastern half is R-2, Medium-Density Residential.
He noted that the “typical” R-1 lot will be 80-by-140 feet and the R-2 lot 65-by-125 feet.
Goforth 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 19 meeting, the commission approved the Engineering Plats for both phases with several conditions.
Goforth noted that each Engineering Plat includes approximately 50 lots and must be corrected to include Millington certifications, not Shelby County’s.
He 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 Meadows 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.
(4) An overall drainage map must be provided to verify that Lots 241-250 are included in the area where drainage bypasses the detention basin.
Although the U.S. Postal Service has declared that cluster mailbox kiosks must be installed in all new single-family subdivisions, Goforth has said Congress has never approved anything that requires them.
He 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.”
