After a lengthy discussion regarding details of a prominent mixed-used development on Canada Road, a Lakeland commission has delayed action on the project by the Hyneman family until next month.
Some of the questions with the $150 million-plus project, now known as Ashmont, were addressed, moving the concept closer to approval. Still, the Lakeland Municipal Planning & Design Review Commission, meeting Thursday night, decided more work is needed before city officials are comfortable with the plan.
Thus, the commission deferred action to address some “big ticket items” before sending it to the Board of Commissioners for consideration.
The project by landowner John Hyneman and developer Keith Grant (under the Blue Sky Communities banner) has been under review for several months. City officials have expressed concerns about the concept, previously known as Lakeland Park, particularly the number of curb cuts, limited internal circulation, the location of retail and the resulting congestion at Davies Plantation and Canada roads.
Applicants have addressed some of those concerns.
“The outline plan differs from the sketch plan in several ways,” Lakeland Planning Director Donald Anthony said. “First, the number of curb cuts has been reduced slightly. Second, the project now has an internal driveway that serves the proposed commercial uses on the east side of the development, and third, the plan now includes a row of single-family attached or townhouse-type dwellings between the commercial and residential portions.”
The newest plans include 129 single-family detached residential lots; 18 single-family attached residential lots; a senior care facility; and 15 commercial or office lots (that would include restaurants, two hotels and a convenience store and gas station), along with walking trails, ponds, and tree preservation areas.
“Our plan is not to develop the individual parcel sites. Our plan is to sell those off to hotel users or end users in retail, be it restaurants or anyone else that might come in to use those, including the senior living facility on the west side of the property,” said Grant, who got involved in the project at Hyneman’s request last November. “The problem is this whole site is very hilly, and what we’re trying to do is preserve as much as we can but also provide access to all of it.”
The new plans, however, deviate from the city’s Land Development Regulations in several areas, including building setbacks, height, architecture, fencing, buffers and trail width.
More significant issues include that the 13% of townhouses exceeds the 10% allowed by city guidelines. The developer requests waiving the right-of-way dedication along Davies Plantation Road, and the inclusion of a convenience store with fuel pumps at the intersection, as well as issues related to required tree and school impact studies.
“The way (the plan’s) structured right now I don’t feel comfortable sending it forward with a positive recommendation,” Commissioner Jim Atkinson said. He wants completed studies of the school and traffic impacts and would prefer to see the convenience store and gas station eliminated.
Grant assured the commission that their concerns would be addressed by next month’s meeting.
Read more: https://dailymemphian.com/section/suburbs/article/27685/prominent-lakeland-development-inches-close-to