JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Johnson City commissioners are considering whether to rezone a 2.5-acre plot along Cherokee Road to allow sixteen townhomes to be built. The proposed access is a private driveway that would connect to Brook Hollow Road. Yet, many who live nearby don’t want that to happen.
Local resident David Reeves is worried that adding more townhomes to this stretch of Cherokee Road will mean more traffic and safety issues.
“We’ve had multiple accidents on our street. People taking out mailboxes, running into trees, have had a few near misses and even a fatality on this road, ” Reeves said. “Our concern is that there has been no traffic study that has been completed prior to this, I believe that while the commission is moving forward, we are pleading with them to exercise more care and to slow down the process just so that they’ve got time to fully understand what is happening as opposed to what is allowable here.”
Amber Rogers with the Johnson City Planning Commission said this type of growth can be a better use of the land.
“The benefit is to provide multi-housing types. So when we restrict a huge area of land to single-family detached homes, it’s like a spreading of the city,” Rogers told News Channel 11. “And this sort of creates like a compact little neighborhood up against a major roadway which is the most appropriate place to put a higher density residential use,” she said.
The proposed concept plan shows a total of sixteen single-family attached residential units,
contained in two townhouse structures. Access would be provided by a private street that
connects to Brook Hollow Road. Each unit would have a 25-foot-long driveway, and
additional parking would be located in a pocket along the private street, according to the plan.
A city commission meeting will be held on Feb. 16, where local residents and city leaders will discuss the rezoning proposal.
