Colonial Acres

CANA Archives

KROGER DEVELOPMENT CANCELED

9/8/04 - The residents who were under contract to have their property bought by the Kroger developers have informed CANA they have received letters from the developers' attorneys stating that all contracts have been canceled. This means the Kroger development project is now just a part of CANA history.
7/15/04 - Anne Shafer announced the Kroger construction project has been canceled. Colonial Cumberland Presbyterian Church has withdrawn its contract with Kroger, and plans to stay in the area and rebuild its facilities. The Office of Planning and Development has told us, “the Kroger plan is off the table.”
6/17/04 - Jack Sammons of the Memphis City Council was unable to attend because of a automobile accident that involved his family. Wanda Tabor reported that Kroger has not yet filed with the Office of Planning and Development and that they must file by July 1 in order to be considered at the August 12 Land Use Control Board meeting and by July 29 to make the September meeting. Since no filing has been made, CANA continues to be in a waiting mode.
5/20/04 - David Wade, the attorney representing CANA in this issue, came and spoke about the filing process as well as what to expect from the meetings with the Land, Use, & Control Board as well as the City Council. We have learned that Kroger has hired a new landscape company and is trying to increase and improve the "buffer zone" in order to better comply with suggestions from the Office of Planning & Development. We have also learned they did not file with O.P.D. in time for a June L.U.C.B. meeting. That means if they file with O.P.D. within the next 2 weeks, then the first meeting we all need to be aware of is the July 8 L.U.C.B. meeting, with the very important City Council meeting coming 4-6 weeks later in mid to late August. We have to stress that since they have not filed yet with O.P.D., these dates do not mean anything yet. We will send out a neighborhood phone call and e-mail, as well as post the updates on this very page as soon as we confirm they have filed.
5/3/04 - No official word yet, but we are prepared in case Kroger files for the June 11 meeting. Please watch this space for further updates, we will post as soon as we have something confirmed.
4/15/04 - Janet Hooks along with Myron Lowery and Scott McCormick all attended the monthly neighborhood meeting and heard the concerns from the neighborhood. We have also heard from Brent Taylor and Carol Chumney recently in meetings and they are aware of the situation. We are expecting more council members at future meetings, so please attend and voice your concern.
3/12/04- Kroger Corporation and Farmington Group have expanded their plans in regard to the Kroger Development. Kroger and Farmington Group have contracts on the houses on the South side of Dunn. Their intentions are to close down Dunn and incorporate the land between S.Perkins and Marcia and make Dearing a dead end. Surveyors from the Pickering firm were seen in the neighborhood on 3/9 and 3/11. Kroger and Farmington have not made application at the Department of Planning and Development (formerly OPD) but we believe they have every intention of doing so before the April 1, 2004, deadline. Officials at the DPD have discouraged them and told them it is a bad idea but they still carry on. If they make this deadline they will present their proposal for the May 13, 2004, Land Use Control Board meeting. Whether it passes at LUCB or not, it is still likely that this issue will come before the City Council sometime in June. CANA is asking all of its neighbors and any citizen of Memphis concerned with preserving our neighborhoods to write letters, call all of our City Council members and voice their disapproval of this unwanted and unneeded development. CANA has retained David Wade to represent and advise us in this matter. Our presence is required at the LUCB and City Council meetings to most effectively combat this intrusion into our neighborhood. CANA is in the formative stages of arranging transportation for these two meetings. Please do everything possible to make sure you can attend these meetings. When there are definite dates CANA will post them on this website
11/18/03 - We have learned that the Kroger Developers will be presenting their application to the Office of Planning & Development at the end of November, and that the meeting will be scheduled for the Land Use Control Board sometime in the first week of January 2004. We will need as many CANA residents to plan on attending this January meeting as possible, and will provide more specific details on this page in the near future - stay tuned!
Legal Fund Established
There was a motion made and passed at the 11/18 meeting to hire an attorney to represent Colonial Acres Neighborhood Association, and we raised enough money in contributions to offset this cost. Now that legal services are no longer required, contact Paul Bryan, CANA Treasurer, if you would like your contribution reimbursed. Any monies remaining will be kept as a separate legal fund reserved for future use.
10/31/03 - More residents being contacted now! According to a first-hand witness of a resident who lives on Dunn, she was contacted about selling her property on 10/30. Check out the "Talk About It" section of our website, and please let us know if you are contacted to sell!
10/21/03 - Kroger planning on trying to push through during holidays! We understand that Kroger is planning to present the rezoning issue in front of the Office of Planning and Development in November, followed up by a City Council meeting in December to try and get the rezoning approved during the generally "busy" holiday times. Even though we usually do not have our meetings in these months, we are making an exception this year in order to help prevent the rezoning efforts! Please check this page and the "Community Calendar" section weekly, in order to get the latest updates, as we will post the information as soon as it is finalized.
10/7/03 - CANA Residents vote to boycott Kroger

REASONS WHY CANA OPPOSED KROGER

List of Reasons Why CANA Opposed the Kroger Development
Message from the CANA President:
CANA members respect the right of free enterprise to expand. But, CANA members also know that we have the legal right and therefore the obligation to defend the boundaries of our residential neighborhoods, and the City of Memphis through its various boards and commissions, recognizes that.


COLONIAL ACRES NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION VOTES TO OPPOSE PROPOSED COMMERCIAL DEVELOPMENT AT QUINCE & PERKINS, DUNN & MARCIA

The Colonial Acres Neighborhood Association has voted to oppose any development of residential property for commercial use within its boundaries. This vote was in response to a proposed development by The Farmington Group and Kroger Inc. of a twenty-four hour Kroger with a gas station island in the parking lot. Quince on the North, Marcia on the East, Dunn on the South, and Perkins on the West border the property involved. Colonial Cumberland Presbyterian Church and twelve residences now occupy the property.

The Colonial Acres Neighborhood Association sets forth the following reasons, among others, for opposing the proposed Kroger development:
1) Traffic, already a problem in the area, will increase drastically, making our streets very unsafe for our children.
2) It will destroy the residential integrity of the neighborhood. Colonial Acres is a good, stable and safe neighborhood with affordable housing and sought-after optional schools. We believe neighborhoods with these characteristics to be vital to the survival of Memphis as a people-friendly city.
3) Property values will go down in the neighborhood.
4) Crime will increase in the neighborhood.
5) Rats and raccoons, already a severe problem in East Memphis, will increase substantially.
6) Loud and smelly diesel over-the road tractor trailers will drive our streets at all hours of the day and night to make deliveries to the store.
7) CANA categorically opposes all proposals to widen Perkins within our neighborhood’s boundaries. A requirement of the developer’s proposal is to widen Perkins in front of the store.
8) CANA believes this proposed development will encourage other developers to attempt to redevelop residential property in the area to commercial use, resulting in commercial creep along both Perkins and Quince.
9) CANA believes the development will cause other establishments on the west side of Perkins to fail and leave empty store fronts – a blight to any neighborhood.
10) Flash flooding has been a severe and perpetual problem in the immediate area surrounding the development. CANA believes a large parking lot will affect water retention and thus increase flooding problems.

CANA has vowed to aggressively fight any commercial development. A petition circulated through the neighborhood has already garnered over One Thousand Five Hundred (1,500) signatures. In addition, upon a vote by the general membership at the November 16. 2003 meeting, an attorney has been retained to represent CANA in its opposition to this commercial development. Please donate to our defense fund. Send your tax deductible check to: CANA TREASURER, LEGAL FUND, 4928 Amboy, Memphis, TN 38117. A sum of $25 per household was suggested at the meeting; however, any amount you can donate will help in our opposition.