Public hearing held for new 1,000 acre Shelby development
A massive proposed development on nearly 1,000 acres of land along U.S. 74 could be coming to the city of Shelby that would add hundreds of townhomes, single family lots and commercial and industrial sites.
The project, called the Blanton Farm, is scheduled for a public hearing at 6 p.m. on Monday at the Don Gibson Theatre.
Currently, the property is zoned residential and light industrial and the property owners, the Blanton Farm and Gene and Charlene Washburn, are requesting the two parcels of land totaling 835 acres, to be rezoned conditional, according to planning and zoning documents.
South Fork Ventures is listed as the developer for the Blanton Farm project.
City Council members may vote to approve or deny the rezoning request following the public hearing, but are not required to do so.
Audrey Godfrey, senior planner with the city’s planning and zoning department, said the proposed development would have access to West Dixon Boulevard, Old Boiling Springs Road, Polkville Road and Washburn Switch Road.
She said the applicant is proposing a conditional zoning district which would include not only housing, but 107 acres of industrial space along U.S. 74 and several commercial sites. The plans also include open spaces and trails.
According to Godfrey, the project would include just under 700 acres of residential, which would include 1,152 single family lots and up to 491 townhome units. She said 20% of this residential area, totaling about 139 acres, would be dedicated to open space and amenities, including an extension of the First Broad River Trail and several new internal trails throughout the property.
It would also have around 16 acres of commercial and 107 acres of industrial sites.
Following the public hearing, the rezoning request would have to be approved. If it were approved, Godfrey said the city would require submissions of more detailed plans for any of the proposed uses.
“For instance, if a business wants to build a location on one of the commercial or industrial sites, they will need to submit an engineered site plan for a full staff review, as is standard for new construction anywhere else in the city,” she said. “If the applicant wants to pursue a residential subdivision, they will need to submit full engineered plans for us to review, as is standard for that type of development anywhere in the city.”
Reporter Rebecca Sitzes can be reached at rsitzes@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Shelby Star: Public hearing held for new 1,000 acre Shelby development
