The Smyrna Municipal Planning Commission deferred action May 1 on an annexation and planned‑unit development (PUD) request from 452 Properties LLC (Hillwood) for roughly 818.3 acres along Bill France Road and I‑840.

Commissioners said the town and the developer still need signed agreements covering sewer extension, road upgrades, emergency response responsibilities and an unresolved county‑line boundary that could affect whether parts of the tract can be annexed.

The project as presented would split the annexed acreage into C‑2 commercial zoning for about 34.3 acres and I‑2 industrial zoning for the remainder; Hillwood asked for a 60‑foot height limit in the I‑2 areas (the current I‑2 limit cited is 50 feet). The developer’s concept plan showed up to 350,000 square feet in the C‑2 areas and up to 8,500,000 square feet in the I‑2 areas at full build‑out. Hillwood submitted an economic‑impact estimate that staff summarized in the meeting as projecting about $1.3 billion in annual economic impact at full build‑out, roughly 5,800 jobs supported and about $2 million in direct sales tax annually (figures the town characterized as developer estimates for a multi‑decade build‑out).

Why it matters: annexation would commit the town to providing services (roads, police, fire, sewer, water) on a large, mostly undeveloped tract that — as staff described — would require new sewer trunk lines, road upgrades, and possibly a new fire station to maintain the town’s current ISO protection class. Staff and commissioners repeatedly emphasized they could not recommend annexation without clearer, executable plans for who will design, build and pay for those public‑service investments.

Key discussion points

- Sewers and trunk line: Town staff said sewer service for much of the property would depend on a planned Fall Creek trunk line; engineers and developer representatives said a mature design is underway but no final funding or intergovernmental agreement is in place. A staff estimate presented in the meeting listed roughly $10,000,000 as a developer‑borne cost for the main sewer extension (including lift stations and force mains), but staff said final costs and who will pay remain to be negotiated. Paul Ranke of Hillwood said the company is “committed” to participating in the sewer extension and is preparing draft agreements to present to town staff.

- Roads and bridges: Staff provided a rough town estimate of about $14,000,000 to upgrade seven miles of county roads the town would likely need to accept and maintain if it annexed the properties; that estimate excludes at least one bridge (Powell’s Chapel) for which the town did not yet have a separate cost estimate. Staff noted some upgrades could be covered by TDOT grants already in place for a Fall Creek bridge replacement, but transferring or securing grant funding would require further action.

- Public safety and ISO rating: Staff said parts of the eastern parcel would lie more than five miles from Station 4 and could jeopardize the town’s current ISO protection class unless the town builds and staffs an additional fire station; staff provided a ballpark construction cost of $5,000,000 (note: staff said a larger figure of $50,000,000 for a station had also been discussed in the meeting transcript, and commissioners asked staff to clarify estimates). Police staffing and equipment were estimated to require recurring annual costs; staff cited rough, conceptual numbers but emphasized they had not finalized funding plans.

- County boundary and legal risk: The parcels sit on or near the Rutherford/Wilson county line and the town’s urban‑growth boundary; staff raised legal uncertainty about which parcels fall inside the town’s annexable area and said the town would seek clearer legal guidance (county deeds, attorney‑general opinion or court rulings) before pursuing annexation of tracts whose assessment boundaries appear to straddle county lines. Staff recommended the commission not recommend annexation until such questions and required interlocal agreements are resolved.

Developer response

Paul Ranke, representing Hillwood, told the commission Hillwood has an existing relationship with Smyrna (the company developed Airport Business Park) and said it intends to contribute to utility extensions. He offered that Hillwood’s surveyors confirm the current county‑line mapping and said Hillwood would accept a condition making the annexation follow the county lines as currently mapped while the parties resolve exact boundary issues. Ranke said initial development would likely occur on the western parcels closest to existing utilities and that eastern build‑out could be years away, giving time to stage infrastructure and service additions.

Staff recommendation and action

Planning staff told commissioners they have “several issues” — principally the sewer agreement, funding and service‑provision details — that should be addressed before a recommendation to council. After discussion, a commissioner moved to defer the annexation and associated plan of services to the next planning commission meeting; the motion carried.

Speakers

- Kevin (planning staff), role/title: Planning staff, affiliation: government
- Paul Ranke, role/title: Representative, Hillwood (developer), affiliation: business
- Dave (town manager), role/title: Town manager, affiliation: government
- James (fire department), role/title: Fire official (identified in transcript as responding on fire/ISO questions), affiliation: government
- Steve (commissioner), role/title: Planning commissioner, affiliation: government
- Matt (commissioner), role/title: Planning commissioner, affiliation: government
- Jeff (town staff), role/title: Town staff (mentioned as staff contact), affiliation: government

Authorities

- Type: other; Name/description: "state law" (requirement that planning commission hold public hearing on plan of services for annexation); referenced_by: ["Kevin (planning staff)"]
- Type: grant; Name/description: "TDOT grant for Fall Creek bridge replacement"; referenced_by: ["Kevin (planning staff)"]
- Type: regulation; Name/description: "ISO protection class guidance (fire protection)"; referenced_by: ["Kevin (planning staff)"]

Actions

- Motion: "Defer action on the annexation, zoning and plan of services for 452 Properties LLC (Hillwood) until the next planning commission meeting." Mover: not specified; Second: not specified; vote_record: not specified; outcome: "tabled"; notes: "Staff recommended deferral until sewer, road, public safety and county boundary issues are resolved."

Discussion_vs_decision

- Discussion points: sewer trunk design/funding, road upgrades and who will maintain them, ISO implications and possible new fire station, county boundary legal uncertainty, developer economic impact estimates, requested 60‑ft height in I‑2.
- Direction/assignment: Staff to continue negotiations with developer and utilities, pursue legal clarification of county boundary and interlocal agreements; specific assignments were discussed but no formal direction was adopted at the meeting.
- Decision: Defer (no recommendation to council was made at this meeting).

Clarifying details

- "total_acreage":818.3 (developer submission)
- "developer_estimate_economic_impact_annual_usd":1300000000 (developer estimate; full build‑out; presented at meeting)
- "developer_estimate_jobs_total":5800 (developer estimate; full build‑out)
- "sewer_extension_cost_estimate_usd":10000000 (town staff rough estimate; includes lift stations/force mains)
- "road_upgrade_approx_usd":14000000 (town staff rough estimate for upgrading ~7.2 miles of county roads)
- "proposed_I2_height_request_ft":60 (Hillwood requested)
- "current_I2_height_limit_ft":50 (zoning ordinance cited)

Community relevance

- Geographies: Smyrna vicinity along Bill France Road and I‑840; portions near Rutherford/Wilson county line
- Impact groups: local taxpayers (potential service costs), existing residents near Bill France Road, future industrial/commercial employees
- Funding sources discussed: developer contributions, potential TDOT grant transfers, impact fees over project life

Meeting context

- Engagement level: Extended discussion; developer present and spoke; multiple commissioners and town staff participated; item deferred for further negotiation
- Implementation risk: high (dependent on multi‑party agreements, TDOT grant transfer, sewer construction and county boundary resolution)

Searchable tags:["annexation","Hillwood","PUD","sewer","ISO rating","Bill France Road","I‑840","public safety","county boundary"]

Provenance

- transcript_segments:[{"block_id":"block_544.995","local_start":0,"local_end":2200,"evidence_excerpt":"annexation zoning and plan of service request for 4 52 properties LLC ... This is an annexation request ... 818.3 acres ... sewer would not be available till that Fall Creek trunk line is in place","reason_code":"topicintro"},{"block_id":"block_4063.835","local_start":0,"local_end":800,"evidence_excerpt":"I'll make the motion to defer until the next meeting ... I have a motion and a second to defer until the next planning commission meeting ... This motion is deferred.","reason_code":"topicfinish"}]

Salience

- overall:0.90; overall_justification:"Large annexation with long‑term fiscal and service implications; multiple unresolved technical and legal dependencies."; impact_scope:"regional"; impact_scope_justification:"Project affects town infrastructure, county roads and cross‑county boundaries."; attention_level:"high"; attention_level_justification:"Potentially large economic build‑out and material impacts to budgets and emergency services."; novelty:0.65; novelty_justification:"Large industrial PUD proposals are significant but not unprecedented for area."; timeliness_urgency:0.85; timeliness_urgency_justification:"Commission action could commit town to services; unresolved agreements require near‑term negotiation."; legal_significance:0.60; legal_significance_justification:"Annexation depends on county boundary/legal interpretations and interlocal agreements."; budgetary_significance:0.70; budgetary_significance_justification:"Town could incur multi‑million dollar road, sewer and public safety costs."; public_safety_risk:0.50; public_safety_risk_justification:"Fire coverage and ISO rating could be affected if not addressed."; environmental_impact:0.30; environmental_impact_justification:"Large build‑out could change land use but environmental specifics not discussed."; affected_population_estimate:0; affected_population_estimate_justification:"Population impacts depend on future build‑out and were not quantified."; affected_population_confidence:0.20; affected_population_confidence_justification:"Developer estimates were high‑level and not site‑specific."; budget_total_usd:10000000; budget_total_usd_justification:"Town staff rough estimate for sewer main (developer estimate); other costs (roads, fire) discussed separately."; decision_deadline:"next planning commission meeting"; decision_deadline_justification:"Commission voted to defer to the next meeting."; policy_stage:"committee"; policy_stage_justification:"Item remains before planning commission for further negotiation."; follow_up_priority:9; follow_up_priority_justification:"High priority given scale and dependencies."; fact_check_risk:0.40; fact_check_risk_justification:"Several numbers were developer estimates or staff rough figures that need verification."; uncertainty:0.70; uncertainty_justification:"Multiple unresolved agreements and legal boundary questions."; source_diversity:0.55; source_diversity_justification:"Developer, planning staff and town manager participated."; stakeholder_balance:0.50; stakeholder_balance_justification:"Developer and town staff present; broader public comment was not part of this hearing."},