The Cookeville Planning Commission approved an annual report Monday night outlining the city planning division’s focus for 2025.
Community Development Director Jon Ward said one of the items the department wants to look into is the city’s parking requirements. Ward said members of the planning commission asked his department to look into the matter last year as there have been questions about the best ways to handle parking spaces in the city.
“We’ve always tried to have parking standards established so spillover parking didn’t impact adjacent properties,” Ward said. “But we were going to look and see if our requirements were on the high side or if we’re on the low side and we need to make a recommendation to make a change to any of those.”
Ward said the report also includes plans to review stand-alone residential uses and mixed-use development in commercial zones. Ward said commercial zones usually have the infrastructure for residential projects but there are concerns that the city is using too much commercial land for residential purposes.
“There are concerns that we may be losing more of our commercial properties for residential development and should we take a look at what those requirements are and think about potential revisions,” Ward said. “It’s permitted in the zoning code. It would all have to go through amendment processes and that was something that came out of a survey. We asked that specific question and there were people, were respondents that felt that it may not be the best path forward for the city.”
Ward said these subjects will be kept as potential study items for the coming year. Ward said his department may not get to every item because it has been spending a lot of time updating the city’s current comprehensive plans.
“We’ll hopefully get to that and bring it to the commission and explain to them what our analysis is of those items and either make recommendations for changes or stay where we are depending on where we go,” Ward said.
The report also had several major tasks completed by the planning division and commission in 2024. Ward said the city approved fifteen final plats creating two hundred forty-four lots, reviewed nine preliminary plats creating two hundred thirty-three lots, and considered eight rezoning requests, six of which were approved.
“This year we plan, and we’ve been saying this for several years and I know you guys, there’s always something that causes us to hit the brakes and pause for a second, but the major activity will be up (to) date to the 2030 plan,” Ward said. “And when we can coordinate meetings with the council and the planning commission we plan to kick that off in the coming weeks.”
In other business, the planning commission approved two rezoning requests: one from single family residential to local commercial on West Broad Street and the other from regional commercial to general commercial on South Jefferson Avenue. Commissioners also approved a final plat for the right of way dedication of the new Steward Cemetery Road off Highlands Park Boulevard.
The commission also approved adjustments to the city’s official street map and a request to declare a small, empty portion of Cookeville Regional Medical Center’s property as surplus so a neighboring pediatric office can purchase it for expansion.
