Officials: Collierville could annex Quinn Ridge area
Vacant, wooded property is located between Quinn Road and Quad County Lane
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In what one Shelby County commissioner called the most divisive local land use issue in the last few years, Collierville is negotiating with developer John Porter and neighbors about plans for 177 acres off Quinn Road north of the Mississippi state line.
And one possibility under discussion is annexing the property into the town.
“There has been progress,” Collierville Town Administrator James Lewellen said. “Staff has met with John and
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Once a stranger to the sport, Kyvon Davenport now a Tigers star. with his engineers, and we’ve talked about a design. We’re continuing to field questions from his side and answer them. We’re hopeful that we’re real close to John submitting a request to be annexed into town and develop the property according to Collierville standards.”
Porter’s proposal for building 543 homes with about three lots per acre and creating an entrance off the rural, two-lane Quinn Road put him at odds with neighboring farm owners worried about quality of life in the area.
The vacant, wooded property is located in Shelby County between Quinn
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Neighbor Rick Sievers said he was overwhelmed by how the Quinn Ridge proposal would change the atmosphere of the area and how badly it conflicted with the wishes of existing homeowners.
“This is a horse and farming area,” he said, raising ongoing concerns about traffic and the proposed change in the landscape and population density. “(The development) is totally out of character.”
During recent visits to the area, cows roamed quiet pastures and a large water buffalo peered over a fence.
The Porter development would border Bob Slaughter’s property to the north and east. He and his wife and children have lived there for 15 years. Inspired by their daughter’s passion for horses, the family found the property and built their home and barn.
He said his primary concern isn’t for his own property, but for the impact of the higher density proposal on the larger Quinn Road area, including traffic.
“Quinn Road is an interesting area,” he said. “It’s still very rural. We have tractors that go up and down the road, we have real bullpens with real bulls in them, we have a lot of horses, we have a neighbor who has a dog rescue, places that train hunter jumper students. We’ve got some folks who grow soybeans and different things. There’s not really a lot of places like this so close to urban and incorporated areas.”
Not much traffic travels on Quinn Road and bike clubs tend to favor it, Slaughter said.
This year the development had victories and setbacks as it went before various boards.
Collierville officials argued the Quinn Ridge proposal was inconsistent with the town’s land use plan and that it could potentially reduce the value of surrounding properties. The Shelby County Land Use Control Board rejected the plan, but it passed through the County Commission with a revision — traffic to the development would be restricted from Quinn Road except for emergency vehicles.
Collierville began looking at its legal options and then-Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell decided to veto the plan.
Some commissioners supported the development, which would have generated $1.8 million in property taxes per year for the county, while District 2 Commissioner David Bradford, who represents the area, opposed having the hundreds of homes built in an area surrounded by mostly agricultural property.
Commissioner Mark Billingsley said it was the “most divisive” of the land use cases he’s seen in his five years on the commission.
Porter and his representative could not be reached for comment this week.
“I think what we’re doing down there is going to be a tremendous asset to the area and to Shelby County,” Porter said in August. “I think Shelby County has a big problem right now with everybody wanting to move out and move into Fayette County and DeSoto County and Tipton County. I think we need to keep our residents here. Anytime you can get somebody to build a $500,000 house in your county, that’s a good thing.”
Slaughter said a key compromise in the plan could involve two different parcels of the planned development. He said a 40-acre parcel along Quinn Road could be developed in line with the current character of the neighborhood while a main entrance to a larger, higher-density parcel could come from U.S. 72 instead of Quinn Road.
“This way we don’t have to move our farms, and we can preserve history to another generation,” he said.
Neighbors could also request annexation depending on how negotiations continue.
Discussions were ongoing, and neighbors planned to meet with Collierville officials next week.