A proposal to develop a Cooper-Young subdivision of 12, smaller-than-allowed lots may be tweaked to satisfy many, but not all, of the neighborhood’s concerns.

Developer Cameron Ellis, doing business as WO SFR LLC, seeks a special-use permit from the Land Use Control Board on Thursday, Nov. 12, to build Tanglewood Place Planned Development.

The request is to allow smaller lots as well as less space than required between the houses and property lines.

The site is 1.17 acres near the northwest corner of Elzey and Tanglewood, and is bordered on the north by a vacated Union Pacific rail right of way.

The 18,870-square-foot, vacant building on the property once housed the Metal Manufacturing Company.

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The developer proposes a dozen lots ranging from 2,140 to 3,158 square feet. Two private drives would be built through the development, one off Elzey and the other off Tanglewood.

The application drew seven letters of opposition, including one from the Cooper-Young Neighborhood Association and another from Memphis Heritage.

“This development is not compatible with surrounding land uses, specifically the single-family residential areas near this planned development,” wrote Holly Jansen Fulkerson, executive director of Memphis Heritage.

“The standard lot size in Cooper-Young is 6,000 sq. ft…. Twelve homes on a 1.17 acre site is just too much,” she wrote.

Other opponents expressed concerns about the proposed private drives and possibility of gated entrances, no sidewalks or green space, valley curbs, and possibility for houses too tall for the neighborhood.

But in its staff report, the Office of Planning and Development recommends the board approve, with conditions, the request for a special-use permit.

“Staff has collaborated with both the developer and the Cooper-Young Community Association to craft a plan that provides greater choice in local housing types while remaining consistent with the context of the neighborhood,” the staff report states.

“The proposed configuration, as conditioned, allows for an outward-facing development that integrates into the existing neighborhood street network and increases connectivity,” the report states.

The report adds that the developer’s site plan has been changed “due to staff concerns” about its inward orientation, its creation of new dead-end streets and alleys, the less than 150 feet between the east-west Elzey and a proposed east-west subdivision street, and the reverse frontages of lots adjacent to Elzey.

The conditions staff recommends for approval include: The prohibition of any short-term rentals; maximum heights of 1.5 stories (30 feet); front setbacks of 15 feet; porches at least eight feet deep; fencing and walls subject to the Midtown District fencing standards; perpetual public access easement; no gates; and construction that is subject to Landmarks Commission review because Cooper-Young is a historic district.

Olivia Wall, chair of the Cooper-Young Development Committee, told The Daily Memphian in an email, “… We support the conditions set forth in the Staff Report but would also like to see the number of lots on the property reduced which would increase lot size and width and be more in line with current zoning.”