The story: Lakeland’s Board of Commissioners met Oct. 22 at City Hall. Two items matter most if you live or drive near Highway 64: a rezoning on Walker Springs Drive and a plan to repave Canada Road.

Homes, not shops, on Walker Springs

  • The board voted unanimously on second and final reading to rezone the land from commercial to residential, The Daily Memphian reported.
  • Where: Two parcels on the east and west sides of Walker Springs Drive, at the northeast corner of Highway 64. Together they total 14.31 acres, per the city’s staff report.
  • What changed: The zoning went from C-2 Regional Commercial to R3 Suburban Cottage (Ordinance O-14-2026).
  • Why: The land is undeveloped and is planned as a residential subdivision. City staff said the change fits Lakeland’s Comprehensive Plan, which calls for compact residential there, in line with the neighbors.
  • The Municipal Planning Commission recommended it back on April 9. The applicant was Renaissance Design Studio, LLC.

Canada Road repaving: one bid, $1.48 million

The agenda also carried a contract to resurface Canada Road from south of I-40 to north of US-64. Here’s what the meeting packet shows:

  • The bid: The city got exactly one sealed bid on Oct. 5. APAC-Tennessee bid $1,475,327.50, about $30,000 over the engineer’s estimate of $1,444,919.
  • The fine print: The resolution “tentatively” approves the contract. Final award depends on approval from the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT).
  • Who pays: A federal Surface Transportation Block Grant covers 80%. The city covers the 20% local match.
  • The inspector: A separate $153,681.65 contract with Fisher & Arnold, Inc. covers construction engineering and inspection.
  • What’s included: Besides new pavement, the project replaces curb ramps that don’t meet current ADA standards and resurfaces the parallel pedestrian paths.

Heads up: The city hasn’t posted the Oct. 22 minutes yet, so we haven’t confirmed the vote on the Canada Road contracts. We’ll update this when they’re posted. Also, this is a different project from the New Canada Road construction north of I-40.

What’s next: The board’s next regular meeting is Thursday, Nov. 5, at City Hall, 10001 Highway 70. The city’s meeting calendar lists a 5:30 p.m. start.

Sources: City of Lakeland BOC agenda packet, Oct. 22, 2026; City Management Update, Oct. 21, 2026; The Daily Memphian, Oct. 26, 2026.

Photo: Subdivision construction in Morristown, Tenn. (not the Lakeland site). AppalachianCentrist / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0), cropped