New Home Construction

Building Design Review and Approval process must be completed before any forest mulching, land clearing, utility infrastructure, or residential construction can begin.  Owners must obtain approval from the Cooley’s Rift Architecture and Landscape Review Committee (ALRC). 

Building Design Review Process:

1. Information needed to start the approval process, Architectural Design Guidelines can be found on this website.

2. Before construction may begin, owner sends $2,000 impact fee check to the Cooley’s Rift HOA. 

3. Complete the Cover Page Form, attach all the relevant files (listed below) in .pdf form. Send completed Packet to cooleysriftalrc@gmail.com.

4. Variance request form is located HERE.

5. Deadline for submissions is 21st of each month for consideration at the following month. 

6. ALRC performs final review of constructed property. Within 45 days of notice by owner that building improvements are complete, ALRC will inspect property and provide notice of final approval or notice of violation.

Guidelines:

1. Builder must be licensed in Tennessee.

2. Burning is not permitted in Cooley's Rift. Burn penalties are set by the Board at $1,000.00 per instance.  

3. If variance request is submitted, adjoining owners will be notified as it may affect their property as well. 

4. Porta Potties and storage units must be away from road and placed as discretely as possible. 

5. Required Documents

   • Site Plan - Must included the following

     1. Driveway entrance (at least 100 feet from any intersection, and have 20 feet perpendicular to road)

     2. Area to be cleared for homesite (not to exceed 10% of the footprint of the structures)

     3. Indication of location of wattles and silt fencing

     4. 50 foot setbacks clearly marked

     5. Land topography

     6. SSDS (septic) field and intended septic tank location

     7. Notes with Total Square footage of structure, clearing area, driveway width, distance to intersection (if applicable),

   • Elevations - Should include at least 2 sections and may include

     1. Full architectural drawings

     2. Floorplan

     3. Electrical plan

     4. Mechanical Plan

     5. Foundation Plan

   • Finishes - Should include ALL relevant exterior finishes including but not limited to

     1. Paint color

     2. Trim color

     3. Stone style and colors

     4. Roof Style and Color

     5. Garage door finishes

     6. Any other exterior finish 

   • Landscape plan (not due till AFTER dry-in) MUST include

     1. Proper marking of zoning areas 

     2. General indication of plantings for property

6. Monteagle City defines R1 Zoning as only having a single homesite on a property. Guest houses are not permitted in R1 zoning; therefore, they will not be approved by the ALRC committeee. 

7. Lake lot owners 

   • It will be required that Lake lot owners install a silt fence along lake frontage prior to starting any project. Protecting the ecosystem of Lake Louisa during the building process is essential. Click HERE for more information on Lake Building Guidelines. 

   • In addition to the silt fence, there must be a 30 foot minimum riparian buffer retained during the building process. 

Click here

Design Submission Cover Sheet