Putnam County Planning Commission discussed ideas for a proposal to building a timber-framing business on Mike Maxwell Road, west of Cookeville.
Planning Director Kevin Rush said the proposed development is for a Crossville-based company. Rush said that the project has a few issues that need to be addressed, including an existing billboard on the property that adjoins the I-40 right-of-way.
“The developers withdrew the plat,” Rush said. “They figured it was not ready for any type of formal approval, and they just wanted to discuss the overall development with the planning commission and maybe get some guidance.”
According to the preliminary plat, a new road is planned to be built where the billboard currently stands.
“The owner of the billboard has a limited spot where he can move or adjust the location, so that is a factor that… you know, we would not allow in a county right-of-way or a new road,” Rush said. “So that is an issue that will have to be addressed.”
Rush said additional challenges include significant wetland soils on the site and existing gravel where the proposed road is planned. He explained that the gravel complicates the standard soil-testing process used to confirm the ground is stable enough for road construction.
“Once you get the roadbed graded, we want to do a proof roll, and that’s where we take a dump truck full of dirt, rock, or whatever, and drive the proposed road and look for weak spots in the soils,” Rush said. “You can just watch the tires of the dump truck, and it will sort of deflect or push down a little bit if there is a weak spot. Then those have to be cut out, filled in, and patched with rock. That, as far as we know, not done on this proposed road, so either they would have to remove the gravel or have some sort of geotechnical engineering report prepared showing that the road would suffice.”
The plat would divide an 18.77-acre property into seven lots. Rush noted that, since the county does not have county-wide zoning, it’s unclear what the developer plans to do with the individual lots. He added that it may be some time before the commission revisits the preliminary plat.
In other business, Rush said the single lot plat at the end of Rogers Cemetery Road was denied because no one was in attendance to represent the proposal.
Rush said the commission did approve a preliminary plat on Elmore Town Road for the Spring Valley Subdivision. The subdivision includes eight lots, but with soil concerns could be reduced to fewer lots. Rush said the plat will come back again next month.