Collierville BMA denies Principle Toyota's rezoning request
Principle Toyota’s resubmitted rezoning request was denied by a 4-2 vote on the second reading by the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen during its Monday meeting.
Aldermen's John Worley, John Stamps, Missy Marshall and Billy Patton voted against the rezoning request, while Mayor Stan Joyner and Maureen Fraser voted for it. The three aldermen all spoke highly of Principle Toyota, but all expressed their concerns of where the relocated dealership would be at behind the Kroger on Houston Levee Road.
"I respect they want to be in our town and I want to encourage that in any way possible I can," Stamps said. "I'm not sure right now, I can approve this as a rezoning."
Town Planner Jaime Groce said Principle Toyota if they are willing to could look for another location in Collierville. The planned development outline plan pending separately required a conditional use permit for a car dealership.
"They could re-apply and they could find a place that's already zone for a car dealership," Groce said. "That could be little bit easier for them."
The local car dealership was looking to get approval to rezone 17.22 acres in the Gallina Centro Planned Development from shopping center commercial to general commercial. In addition, 22.10 acres would be rezoned from shopping center commercial to medical professional office, according to the staff reports.
Principle Toyota wanted to move its auto dealership at 7370 Winchester Road in Memphis to Collierville to better serve its customers in Germantown and Collierville, according to documents filed with Collierville. The property the dealership was looking to move to is located north of Winchester Road and just west of South Houston Levee Road. The rezoning application was for 40 acres underlying a portion of the existing Gallina Centro Planned Development.
According to an application, the proposed rezoning is intended to serve as a transitional zoning district between the 109 single-home family development in Germantown — the Viridian project being developed by Boyle Investment Company — and the proposed Toyota dealership.
Timeline of events for local dealership's rezoning request
The Collierville Planning Commission recommended approval of Principle Toyota’s resubmitted rezoning request at a special called meeting on April 18. Before the planning commission meeting, the Collierville Board of Mayor and Aldermen held a work session on March 25 to discuss Principle Toyota's intentions on the undeveloped land between the proposed dealership and the City of Germantown's boundary line.
At the work session, it was discussed that Principle Toyota would amend its request to add a less intensive zoning district and a landscape buffer between Germantown and Principle Toyota's proposed new dealership in Collierville.
Why Principle Toyota is looking to relocate to Collierville
The proposed development site for the Principle Toyota relocation would occupy a proposed 75,000-square-foot building along with 8,600 square feet on the second floor. Todd Lochner, general manager of Principle Toyota, said the dealership has 4,700 Toyota owners in Collierville, with 1,300 of them receiving service at the current Principle Toyota location.
"We have a lot of our customer base in our primary market area, and a majority of them are in Collierville and they're spending their money in Memphis," Lochner said during the Feb. 26 meeting. "We would love to have it here and be part of the community as well as be a part of a better neighborhood quite frankly."
Corey Davis is the Collierville and Germantown reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Corey.Davis@commercialappeal.com or 901-293-1610.
This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Principle Toyota's rezoning request back denied by Collierville BMA
