by Leslie Lytle, Messenger Staff Writer

“The first time I heard about the 20 new lots was when I read in the Messenger about the Sewanee Utility District being contacted about the water and sewer,” complained a resident at the Sept. 21 Sewanee Community Council meeting in response to hearing a summary of plans for 20 new leaseholds and homes on Lake O’Donnell and Hat Rock roads. A number of residents took issue with the initiative. Lack of communication, small lot size, and high density topped the list of complaints.

Providing an update on the proposed development, Vice President for Economic Development and Community Relations David Shipps highlighted the importance of affordability. The average resale cost of Sewanee homes increased from $300,000 to $638,000 in the past 10 years. Forty percent of faculty live distant from campus. The Urban Land Institute advised the University to focus on affordable residential housing. To that end, Sewanee Village Ventures was formed in 2022. The first few SVV homes sold for around $300,000, just barely above cost. The new leaseholds will only be available to employees and can only be resold to employees. The lease office will hold a lottery for five of the leaseholds and Sewanee Village Ventures intends to build homes on another five. Superintendent of Leases Sallie Green said initially nine employees signed up for the lottery, but the number had dropped down to six. Building a home is “a complicated process,” Green observed and more than some people are willing to take on.

Residents acknowledged the need for housing. The complaints arose from the platted lots “not matching the character of the neighborhood” and locating “a dense housing development on a small side street in the middle of a residential area.” Plans call for 20 residences on a three-mile stretch of road where there are currently only six homes and for small lots one-third to one-half the size of the current one-acre standard.

The project will require sewer upgrades. A resident asked why the development was not located in the Wiggins Creek area, which already had infrastructure. Council member and SUD manager Ben Beavers explained Wiggins Creek had water service available, but there were sewer capacity issues. “Wiggins doesn’t have roads,” added Chief Financial Officer Isabelle Love. “The cost of developing Wiggins is three times more expensive.” Another resident suggested the property earmarked for the Arcadia senior living facility as a better location. “There is no sewer and no roads,” Love said.

“I hear what you’re saying, your pain, frustration, and anger,” Love insisted. “Up to now we’ve looked for infill locations where there was already infrastructure. We’ve exhausted all those places.” Residents approved of the spacious lot size and low housing density of the infill homes and pointed to the contrast between those leaseholds and the ones proposed for Lake O’Donnell and Hat Rock roads.

“Communications could have been handled better,” Shipps conceded.

Citing the Sewanee housing crisis as a cause, council member Katie Gohn pointed to the declining enrollment at Sewanee Elementary School and St. Andrew’s-Sewanee School’s challenge to attract middle school students.

“People who only live here two weeks out of the year are taking up houses,” said Council member Marilyn Phelps. “And they contribute nothing to the community.”

“Affordable housing was the biggest surprise for me coming back after 13 years, and the biggest challenge,” Vice-Chancellor Rob Pearigen stressed, “getting our faculty back on campus. The character of our educational experience changes when they’re living distantly. This is about building community. These are complicated matters. I am deeply grateful for everyone’s honesty.”

Taking up a proposal by Chris Barton for a “Sewanee Beautification” initiative, the discussion revolved around the need to build trust and people getting to know their neighbors. Council member Ed Hawkins argued there should be “a standard in the village for what things should look like.” Council member Evelyn Patton cautioned, “This is bigger than pointing to someone’s yard. You need to know your neighbors and what their needs are and abilities.” An unmowed yard could signal someone unable to afford repairing a broken mower or someone sick or elderly and unable to do yard work. Patton suggested the Community Action Committee could encourage food pantry visitors to list what they needed help with. Council member Phil White observed there needed to be better communication about what was available, citing a Tullahoma vendor who would pay cash for and pick up junked cars. Patton, Phelps, and Green will collaborate on moving-forward solutions.

Gohn brought to the council’s attention the danger of pulling out onto University Avenue from Georgia Avenue and North Carolina Avenue due to poor visibility from parked cars. University is striped for no parking, but the rule was not enforced. Gohn suggested new striping and signage allowing parking after 5 p.m. Phelps said the first two parking spots should be designated ‘no parking’ to prevent visibility issues. Police Chief Jeremy Thomas said the department was frequently asked to not ticket visitors to Fulford Hall who were there to attend campus tours; consequently, the police were uncertain about when to enforce the ‘no parking’ rule. Parking is also allowed for special events. The ambiguity surrounding parking on University Avenue was “a problem,” Pearigen agreed.

Phelps raised concerns about vandalism incidents reported on Sewanee Classifieds when very little information was provided. Chief Thomas said very little information could be released when a case was under investigation, but he would provide more information when possible. “That will help people feel more comfortable,” Phelps said. In response to a question about security cameras on campus, Love said there were 199 cameras.

School of Theology representative John Gilmer called attention to the danger to motorists and cyclists at night when the bikes had no lights or reflectors. Tennessee law requires after-dark cyclists to have reflectors. Thomas said most of the complaints regarding bikes were about cars parking in bike lanes. Going forward, police will be more attentive to the nighttime cyclist issue.

Revisiting the fire hydrant flow testing and flushing discussion from last September, Love said plans called for flow testing and flushing of approximately 220 hydrants by an independent contractor. Beavers, speaking as the SUD manager, said the dry conditions would necessitate delaying the flushing and flow testing to avoid water loss, since the hydrants relied on the same water source as the community’s drinking water, two supply lakes. Beavers reassured residents the flow testing and flushing would be done before the end of the year so the fire department would have the data needed.