Overview of Comments from Rossville Residents/Land Owners Meeting
March 19, 2012

 

Ken Spencer:

• No further expansion of Industrial area
• Provision for residential growth
• Preserve Green Space – we’ve dropped the ball on this one.
• Retail to support the neighborhood – specialty shops)  Rossville isn’t a destination

Jack Everett:

• What land use proportions do Germantown and Collierville have?  Should we model our growth along those lines?

David Baker – 5-8% Green; higher residential than Rossville (60%) 35-40% Commercial/retail; remainder is open space

Ben Farley:

• What is the ideal mix for a city?

Ans:  All are different based on airports/ rail, etc.  We’re leaning towards heavy industril if we don’t balance it out. 

• Original Plan for Hwy. 57 had 100’ of green space, zoned downtown commercial and wanted to push green space. 

Anne Murray:

• Very concerned and disturbed with the small percentage of green space currently in the plan. The original plan focused on green space to make growth softer and we wanted to preserve that focus.  Recommends that the “blue space” should be pulled back and made smaller to provide for growth in other areas.
• Any growth should focus on preservation of the town.  Appropriate retail has to maintain the town’s vision.

Phil Hollis:

• Rooftops are our growth.  We don’t want to be an industrial city.

Karen Garner

• City of Lakeland may be an appropriate model to follow.  The residents are involved and have updated a comprehensive plan.  They have recognized that they are a rural city and agreed to keep it that way.  They will be a preservation city and will work to ensure a minimum impact on the environment.  They have NO city taxes.  Their revenue comes from retail/commercial businesses.  Suggested finding pictures of towns that have established an identity for ideas.

Anne Murray:

• The original plan had a projection for a new town center.  We need to do whatever is appropriate and have space planned for future development and growth.
• She specifically recalled that during the discussions with the rail authorities, it was agreed that no traffic would come down Knox Road.  It will be a horrible dis-service if we allow this because it interferes with the Plan.  She was on the committee.

Phil Hollis:

• Let’s go back to what we had before and take another run at it.  Believes the City should honor its agreement --- don’t dump traffic on Hwy. 57.  This is a large industrial area that will be dumping traffic on a 2 lane highway.

Ben Farley:

• Recommends not allowing drive thru capability for businesses.  
• How does a city budget walking trails big enough to handle this?  We need a funding method – some cities have impact fees assigned to each lot.

Karen Garner:

• Lakeland has to include a green line to walk to each community.  They have just sold 2 homes in Rossville and are starting more.  She believes we should not allow traffic onto Hwy. 57 because that’s what she was told by the city when she discussed developing Saunders Creek and that’s what she is telling perspective home owners.  If/when Saunders Creek is completed, it will mean $120/$130K in revenue.  Rooftops drive revenue; revenue drives development.

Bill Lackey:

• What is David’s experience in town identiy – what drives single family homes?
• Answer – schools, quality of life, activities, taxes

Buck Clark:

• Observations about planning and zoning:
• Planning and zoning don’t create development.  You can zone land use but the market drives growth.
• Pie chart has a lot of industrial zoned property but there isn’t much industry.  Rossville is a community of homes with other business.  The market has chosen this for Rossville and our future should be in single family homes.
• The way to grow is to either raise taxes or get more people to move here.  Everything we do should shape and preserve the value of our homes.
• The RR is here – it will have some good effects.  It will create a barrier to the MS state lane.  The bridge across Hwy. 57 will help us create a unique and different city (parks, trails, historic downtown) than places to the west of the RR.
• This needs to be promoted in every phase of our plan.

Steve Anderson:

• Focus development on single family residences – even concerned with town home growth.
• Need to provide zoning for offices

Nancy Turner:

• We can’t change what has already happened.  Would like to put controls in place that will confine the industrial space to what it currently is.  Agreed with Anne Murray and Buck Clark. 
• Need to honor our agreement to protect access to Knox Road.  Once we give them a crack, it will impact the entire community and destroy the town.

Karen Garner:

• If we give them an inch, they will take a mile.  Has to stop now.

Bob Taylor:

• Current population – 664
• The key to long term planning success is to keep our officials honest with their agreements and ensure that the integrity of that the citizens have been told is protected.
• We need to stay engaged and focused.  Need more participation.  The moral of the story is to engage people (citizens/land owners) and to capture the wishes of the community.  Have to protect these concepts and ordinances.