Subdivision next to Sugarwood is sought
Get ready, Sugarwood and Kingsgate subdivision residents: new neighbors may be on the way.
Developers Glen Glafenhein and David Alley want to create a 155-lot subdivision on an 87.5-acre tract that is bordered by Sugarwood, Kingsgate and Virtue Road. The land currently has a single home on it. The developers were at a Feb. 28 Town of Farragut Staff-Developer meeting to ask Town leaders and aldermen to change the zoning from agriculture to residential.
Problems and potential challenges of putting in such a large development were discussed, including the need for a second road into the subdivision, rain runoff that could flood a few of the proposed yards that would border Sugarwood and the problem of water standing on Virtue Road after a storm.
“I think it’s one of the nicest tracts left in Farragut,” Glafenhein said. “It’s big.”
His plans are still in flux, but may include an estate-size lot in the corner of the subdivision. He plans to include a pool, clubhouse and walking trails.
“Banks are making loans on developments now,” he said. “I guess you’ve heard that timber has gone up 30 percent and block is supposed to go up?”
Glafenhien added that interest rates may be going up.
He asked the group if a decision had been made on impact fees [one-time charges assessed on new development, typically at time of building permit, to cover cost of infrastructure improvements attributable to growth].
Vice Mayor Ron Pinchok said town officials had agreed they need to move on it soon.
Ashley Miller, assistant community development director, said being cognizant of the drainage was her biggest concern about the proposed subdivision.
Pinchok said his biggest concern is the window of opportunity is about to close. “Maybe we can expedite the process.”
After the meeting, Alderman Louise Povlin said Glafenhein’s proposal remains in the planning stages, with the next required step appearing before Farragut Municipal Planning Commission, during its Thursday, March 16 meeting [7 p.m.], to request rezoning.
When the meeting was over, Glafenhien said, “I think the frustration is not having impact fees resolved and how that slows the process. I do think they felt empathetic to our situation.”
He said Town staff brought up the issue that widening the road is not a real solution to the Virtue Road flooding situation. “Widen-ing the road is not really fixing the road,” he said. “The road should be built up.”
The meeting started with presentations by developers of two smaller subdivisions. A request was made for Hanover Court to change the location of its sewer system. A conceptual plan for an 8-lot subdivision off Old Stage Road (between two sections of Fort West subdivision) was presented by developer Steve Bethel.
