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Wlaf1450Officials with Crafted Milestone, LLC, developer of proposed Elk Stone at Lake Norris presented
By Charlotte Underwood
JACKSBORO, TN (WLAF)- A variance request made by T. Phillip Carlyle and Matt McQueen for a Right of Way (ROW) variance of 40 feet instead of the required 50-foot ROW for a short section of Shanghai Road was denied at Monday’s county planning commission meeting. Carlyle and McQueen represent Crafted Milestone, LLC, the developer of the proposed Elk Stone at Lake Norris.
The request was denied, with four yes votes, eight no votes and one abstain. Marie Ayers made the motion to approve the request, with Gary Byrd seconding that motion. Ayers, Byrd, Greg Leach and J.C. Miller voted yes, while Rusty Orick, Scott Fields, Warren Kitts, Dewayne Kitts, Lonnie Weldon, Eugene Justice, Beverly Hall and Charles Baird voted no. Michael Caudill abstained.
At the start of Monday’s planning commission meeting, members heard from concerned citizen Rob Kerr who urged the planning commission to deny the variance request, because it would negatively impact the area. He also said the road would not handle the traffic, and that it would be an inconvenience on the residents of the area.
… “granting the variance would undermine the intent and integrity of the county’s regulations. The 50-foot right-of-way requirement exists to ensure adequate traffic flow, emergency access, utility placement, drainage, future road improvements, and public safety. These are not arbitrary standards. Reducing the required width by twenty percent creates foreseeable long-term limitations and risks, particularly if future development expands beyond what is currently being suggested,” part of Kerr’s statement to planning commission members.
“We have beautiful resources here but at what point are we going to stop using our resources for their wealth generation,” Kerr said.
The original proposal for the development had been up to 600 lots on 524 acres, however the developers said they wanted to revisit that after the variance was granted and a more complete traffic study was done and that they were prepared to move forward with “much less density” and a lower number of lots that could be as low as 100 lots.
Carlyle and McQueen had submitted a letter to the planning commission asking for the variance based on “existing site constraints including limitations associated with adjacent properties that are restricted against our intended use making the purchase of additional width impossible.”
The letter went on to state that the developers were not “at this time seeking approval for a specific development density” and that the request is limited to allowing the subdivision and establishment of said possibility, with the understanding that any future density considerations will be reviewed separately and remain fully subject to applicable requirements, including the completion of a traffic study if deemed necessary. While we currently have a traffic study, it is for extreme density.” Developers provided several scenarios to the planning commission, with all three showing that a variance was required.
They asked for the variance to be granted “without density consideration at this time” saying that they wanted to “explore options” with their engineer and traffic engineer to determine the most desired density so that the traffic study can be prepared accordingly and accurately.”
“We are willing to move forward with this project without the heavy density … we want to reverse engineer it and see what that density would be,” Carlyle said.
After a lengthy conversation, this request was denied, with four yes votes, eight no votes and one member abstaining. (WLAF NEWS PUBLISHED-05/05/2026-6AM)