Menu
Planner suggests rezoning areas, new regulations for signage and parking lots
By: WILLIAM NORTHCUTT
Staff Reporter
As the city considers revising the use map for various neighborhoods and districts in Dyersburg, consultants continued with suggestions to rezone areas and to revise regulations for commercial signage and commercial parking lots. Up on the agenda too were consideration of plat requests, one for a Pope-Hillcrest Avenue consolidation plat, the second for a Fairview Drive subdivision plat.
Chair Eddie Burks conducted the meeting, which was attended by members Paul Newbill, Dyersburg Mayor John Holden, Tony Dement, Megan Brooks, and Mark Oakes. Brian Ramm was absent. Urban Planner with Smith Seckman Reid, Inc., Joren Dunnavant and WSP Transportation Consultant Christian Saxe. City staff present included Dyersburg City Engineer Tiffany Heard, Fire Department Chief Brett Sipes, and Inspector Scotty Hollis. Owner of Barron Surveying and Mapping Craig Barron and Principal at Civil Engineering Solutions Rusty Norville made the plat requests.
Barron, applicant for owners William Scott Pope and Jennifer Pope, requested a consolidation plat approval for a plot east of Hillcrest Avenue. Approval came swiftly with the caveat that if the owners decided to use the land for anything other than its current zoning (R2 residential), the land would be under newer regulations and undergo further processes. Newbill made a motion to approve, and Oakes seconded. The motion carried.
Norville’s request, however, was denied at this point. For owners AMI, Inc., he requested a preliminary plat approval at a portion of 1564 Fairway Drive and a portion of 396 Jenkinsville-Jamestown Road, 9.72 acres. The sticking point came from the location, part inside, part outside city limits, which would require annexation of the land before the plat could be considered. Noting that according to usual steps, the land is annexed before the request is made, Burks said, “It looks like you’re putting the cart before the horse.” He added that he thought it better to annex first.
Burks remarked that while he was “generally not opposed” to the project, he preferred that the land was annexed first, as per the usual steps toward approval. Norville replied that the city had approved the plan in the late 2000s. Burks said, “I don’t see deferral putting the project in jeopardy.” Norville said he had no objections. Oakes made a motion to defer, and Brooks seconded. Newbill voted against deferment, the other commissioner voted for deferment, so the motion passed 4-1.
Burks told Norville, “We look forward to the project coming back to us.”
Dunnavant introduces possible signage ordinances
Having presented possible changes to the land use map to the City Board of Mayor and Alderman and the Planning Commission, Dunnavant brought a presentation, this time, of possible changes to signage ordinances and conversions of areas in the city to mixed usage, commercial and residential. Some highlights of the presentation included:
*Freestanding signs—10 feet wide by 18 feet tall. Such signs could only carry the business’s name and logo.
*Wall signs—relative to the size of a business’s premises wall: 1.5 square feet of signage per linear foot of a building frontage with one wall sign per building—“Additional signs can mark things such as plant centers, pharmacies, pickup, etc.”
*Billboards—maximum of 35 feet tall, with the advertising portion a maximum of 10 feet tall by 25 feet wide. Billboards must be double-sided.
Landscaping—certain parking locations would require plants or trees at required intervals, medians.
*Mixed-use neighborhoods—such as Milltown or Scott Street by Future City might become mixed-use, in which “limited commercial uses” and residential would co-exist.
Transportation survey
Hired as a consultant by the City of Dyersburg and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT), Saxe said that WSP will provide an online public survey, designed to bring citizens into the discussion of roads. He said while WSP is already “pulling data from TDOT” about existing road plans and regulations, the survey is designed as part of a “public engagement plan that is user-friendly.” He told the commission that the city will have a QR code and link on their website and social media pages that will take citizens to the survey. The survey will give a background on the roads and will ask citizens such questions as why they use the roads, which roads they use most, and what sidewalks they use. It will have them to rank such features as road connectivity and accessibility.
Saxe said, “We want to get as much data as we can, input from your citizenry, from your businesses…We want to make sure we’re addressing concerns.” He said all of this will become part of the major transportation plan.
Burks commented, “This is a very positive development.” Saxe replied, “And the timing couldn’t be any better with what you did with the zoning board [regulation updates and rezoning ordinances]. It’s all going to work together.
Oakes asked, “You’ve got plans for advertising this link in local media to get access to the public here…the paper [State Gazette]?” Saxe said, “We can post it wherever the city would like it.”
Oakes asked for release and end dates. Saxe said that “It will be released on the 19th of this month and will run for 30 days.” Saxe noted that the results will be integrated into transportation plan, then presented to the city before year’s end.