To: City Council, City of Columbia, Tennessee

We, the undersigned homeowners and residents of Taylor Landing, respectfully oppose approval of the proposed Water’s Edge at Taylor Landing apartment complex.

Our Reasons:

1. Home Investment, Families, and Property Values

• For many of us, our home is our largest investment. Many retirees have put their life savings into these homes, and many young families have built their futures here. This project threatens both that investment and the safety of our community.
• Large apartment buildings in the middle of a single-family neighborhood are incompatible with the scale and character envisioned in Columbia’s Vision 2038 Comprehensive Plan.
• High-density housing will lower property values, increase noise, and permanently change the character of Taylor Landing.

2. Traffic, Safety, and Parking

• Adding hundreds of apartment residents will DOUBLE or even TRIPLE traffic on Taylor Bend and River Road.
• These narrow neighborhood roads were never built for heavy apartment traffic and have no direct outlet to Highway 31, creating backups, unsafe turns, and slower emergency response times.
• With so many small children who play and ride bikes in our neighborhood, increased traffic poses a serious safety risk.
• More residents also mean more cars parked on the streets, worsening existing problems with blocked driveways, mail delivery, and emergency access.

3.  Unfair Costs and Developer Neglect

• The City accepted phases of Taylor Landing with cracked sidewalks, broken curbs, and unresolved stormwater problems without requiring Meritage to repair them - shifting those costs to homeowners, as sidewalks and much of the stormwater infrastructure are assigned to the HOA on the plat maps.
• At the same time, Water’s Edge residents would heavily use Taylor Landing’s green spaces, trails, dog park, and waste stations, all paid for through HOA dues.
• The developer has made no written commitment to contribute toward these shared expenses.
• Current homeowners will face higher dues, rising costs, and added wear for problems we didn’t cause.

4.  Environmental Harm

• The site connects to an already stressed and poorly maintained stormwater system that drains into a protected wetland and the Duck River.
• More pavement will worsen flooding, erosion, and sediment buildup in HOA-maintained detention ponds, increasing future costs while harming the Duck River watershed.

We respectfully ask the Columbia City Council to VOTE NO on the Water’s Edge at Taylor Landing Apartment Complex (Ordinance No. 4563)