Ordinance 2017-09 authorizes the transfer of ownership of 0.85 acres of land, currently within the City's 31-acre Granny White Park, to Williamson County Schools. The land transfer is necessary to accommodate a new access road to the rear parking lots at Brentwood High School. A description of the project phasing follows. Construction of the access drive and installation of a new traffic signal is expected to relieve some of the traffic congestion currently occurring during peak hours on Murray Lane and Granny White Pike.
Ordinance 2017-09 is a companion to Ordinance 2017-10, which, if passed, will rezone the 0.85 acres of land transferred to WCS from SI-3 to SI-2.
Attached are the applicable copies of the plan, approved by the Planning Commission at its May 1, 2017 regular meeting.
WCS is proposing extensive modifications to the Brentwood Middle/High School campus. The proposed plan includes a total of three phases, which are summarized as follows:
Phase I, includes the resurfacing of the existing football field, replacing the natural grass with artificial turf. This improvement will also allow the field to be used for a variety of sports programs and other activities. The site plan was approved by the Planning Commission at its April 3, 2017 meeting.
Phase II, includes the construction of a 292-space parking lot in the area of the football practice field located at the rear of the school, west of the baseball diamond. The plan also proposes the construction of an access drive, mentioned above, to the rear parking lots from Granny White Pike. As part of these improvements the plan includes a new signalized intersection at Granny White Pike and Foxland Drive. The alignment of the new drive takes it through the SW corner of Granny White Park. City and WCS staff have discussed the transfer of approximately 0.85 acres in the SW corner to all of for the construction of the new access drive.
Phase III, includes the construction of a new Science, Technology. Engineering and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.) building between the Middle and High schools. The STEM building as proposed included three-stories having an area of 40,000 sq. ft. The building will provide 24 classrooms, six mixed-use laboratories administrative offices and commons areas. The building will increase the enrollment/capacity of the high school from 1,628 to 2,000. The number of staff will also increase by 16. Brentwood High, as of March 13, 2017, has an enrollment of 1,764 students. Phase II has been submitted for staff review and is scheduled to be heard by the Planning Commission on June 5th.
The proposed land transfer was presented to the Park Board at its May 1 meeting and endorsed unanimously. Following that meeting, the Planning Commission reviewed the site plan for Phase II of the project, which included the construction of the access drive from Granny White Pike to the rear parking lots at the school, and approved it unanimously.
On May 8th the Board of Commissioners approved Resolution 2017-29, which authorized a one-time contribution of $2.4 million from available Adequate Facilities Tax funds to assist the school district in cash flowing the project in a manner that would facilitate County Commission approval of the WCS funding request. The City’s contribution would be made in two payments. The first payment of $2 million would be made on or before June 30, 2017. The second payment of $400,000 would be made on or before August 31, 2017. The transfer of the funds was contingent upon several mutually agreed considerations including City sharing of County athletic facilities and property.
Also on May 8th, the Williamson County Commission unanimously approved funding for the proposed expansions at Brentwood Middle, Brentwood High, Page Middle and Page High schools. The funding will also allow WCS to move forward with approval of its attendance zone modifications commonly referred to as "Plan A", which will keep more Brentwood students at local schools.
Should you have any questions or require additional information, please contact the Planning and Codes Director. |