Murfreesboro City Council decided not to make a final decision on the proposed East Main Street apartment complex at its weekly meeting Thursday.
The development, which Thorneberry Properties wants to build between Juliet Avenue and Twin Oak Drive on East Main Street, was removed from the council’s agenda because the meeting was held at 5:30 p.m. instead of the usual 7 p.m.
“(Also) some council members had some questions and this gives time for that and the residents in the area expected a 7 o’clock meeting,” Mayor Tommy Bragg said, adding this will give the council a chance to have its questions answered.
The meeting was scheduled for an earlier time because the council gathered to hear a presentation on how to eliminate the storm water influx from the city's sewer system at 5:30 p.m. Thursday. After the presentation, the council conducted its regular weekly business.
Some confusion in the community about the timing of the meeting prompted Councilman Doug Young to ask to remove the item from the agenda.
“If you’re going to err, you want to err on the side of neighborhoods,” Young said. “You always want to give them the time to air their concerns.”
Area residents have voiced concerns about the impact of traffic on nearby country roads, like Juliet Avenue, which sits across East Main where the apartments would be located.
Bragg defended the city’s planning department during the last vote when neighbors said argued a traffic study wasn’t done when MTSU and other local schools were in session and shouldn’t be taken seriously.
Planning Director Joseph Aydelott said the study was done during the school year and during peak traffic hours and should be taken seriously.
The development was up for final approval Thursday night. Bragg said the council will take up the issue again in a week or two.
The council also unanimously approved, on third and final reading, creating a “move over law” for Murfreesboro, which is similar to the state’s law.
The law would require drivers to move over, if possible, when passing an emergency, highway maintenance or recovery vehicle or slow down when passing if moving over is not possible.
Failure to yield right-of-way would result in a $50 fine.
Michelle Willard can be contacted at 615-869-0816 or mwillard@murfreesboropost.com.
|
Email
Print
Digg
Facebook
MySpace
StumbleUpon
Google
Yahoo!