Frenchtown Road Rezonings

Submitted by David Barrow, Assistant to the Mayor's Office

            I have received numerous phone calls lately from residents along Frenchtown Rd and adjoining subdivisions concerned about the “For Sale: To Be Rezoned Commercial” signs at several locations along Frenchtown Rd near the Central Thruway.  Residents in the area are concerned that these tracts could be rezoned commercial and bring extra traffic onto Frenchtown Rd, which is a rural setting with large acreage and single family homes. 

            First of all, no applications for rezoning have been submitted.  Second, our master plan adopted last year calls for all of the property in this area to remain Rural/Agriculture.  This means single family homes on larger tracts of land.  Churches or schools would also be allowed.  The Master Plan does not recommend commercial zoning anywhere along Frenchtown Road or near this section of the Central Thruway.   Citizens living in the area gave input into the development of the Master Plan.

            Frenchtown Rd is not designed to handle commercial traffic.  Additionally, the development of a commercial corridor along this tract of the Central Thruway would mean commercial encroachment into a residential area and would defeat the purpose of a “thruway” with limited driveway access.   Additionally, parts of this area of Frenchtown Rd are prone to flooding, and commercial development could aggravate this existing situation.   There is a section of the Central Thruway closer to Greenwell Springs Rd that recommends commercial/office zoning according to the Master Plan.

            In conclusion, any requests for rezoning to commercial along the Frenchtown Rd corridor near the Central Thruway would most likely be met with an unfavorable recommendation based upon the Master Plan and geographic considerations.