Design Review Commission Meeting – June 23, 2026
Design Review Commission Meeting – June 23, 2026
The Design Review Commission met on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, at 6:00 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers (1930 S. Germantown Rd.). The meeting began with an executive session at 5:30 PM, followed by the public session. The commission approved the consent agenda, which included a sign approval for a coffee shop, and received liaison reports from the Historic Commission, Tree Board, and a Board of Mayor & Aldermen representative. No public comments were made, and no regular agenda items were discussed as they were held.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Minutes: Unanimously approved the minutes from the May 19, 2026 regular meeting and the June 11, 2026 subcommittee meeting.
- Consent Agenda Item 5A – Ramblin’ Joe’s Coffee (26-016): Approval of a wall sign and a menu board sign at 1227 S. Germantown Rd., Suite 101. The motion passed unanimously, with the chair noting that further decisions on the sign are pending and will not be made tonight.
Public Comments & Testimony
- No citizen comments were offered or received.
Discussion Items
- Commission Liaison Reports:
- Historic Commission (Commissioner Kimbrough): Reported that the train depot opened last Saturday with many visitors and was covered by The Daily Memphian. A self-guided scavenger hunt focused on America 250 will begin June 29, with prizes for participants.
- Tree Board (Commissioner Kimbrough): Announced that the tree mitigation cost for developers will increase from $400 to $500 per tree (effective July 1) and the density requirement will rise from 16 to 22 trees per acre (a 40% increase). The city removed 100–120 inches of hazardous trees using mitigation funds and planted 14 new trees at Bob Haley Park and 30 at Johnson Road Park. Arboretum recertifications are upcoming for Oak Lawn, Poplar Estates, the Greenway, and English Meadows. Three living legacy trees were donated last month, with one more pending.
- Alderman Hicks: Provided background on the new trash contract. He explained that the previous 10-year contract (with a 5-year term plus a 5-year renewal) had artificially low rates. The newest bid process attracted 12 vendors at pre-bid, but only Waste Pro submitted a final bid. Staff negotiated the price down. He also highlighted community events: Lemonade Stand Day raised over $12,000 for the Germantown Education Foundation, St. Jude, and other charities; Concerts in the Grove continue; the Farm Park Farmers Market begins Fridays. He also noted that resident Mr. Criscolo (owner of the Flag Center) donated new flags for the council chambers at no cost to the city.
Key Outcomes
- Minutes approved (unanimous).
- Consent agenda approved (unanimous), including the Ramblin’ Joe’s Coffee wall sign and menu board sign, with the stipulation that further decisions on the sign are pending.
- Regular agenda items held: Case (26-013) Germantown Suites ground sign and Case (26-016) Ramblin’ Joe’s Coffee site modifications were not discussed and remain as held.
- Meeting adjourned after liaison reports.
Meeting Transcript
I would like to welcome all of us to the design review commission for the City of Germantown meeting Tuesday, June 23rd, 2026. Let's start by establishing a quorum. Please call roll. Mr. Nischwitz. Here. Mr. White. Here. Ms. Kimbrough. Here. Mr. Schweikoffer. Here. Alderman Hicks. Here. Chairman Bruns. Here. We do have a quorum. Thank you. For citizen comments, I don't believe we have any citizens before us this evening. But uh in the future, if anyone would like to attend and speak on behalf of any of the agenda items, please feel free to do so. Now we'll approve the minutes from the May 19th, 2026 regular meeting and the June 11th, 2026 subcommittee meeting. Do I have a motion? Motion to approve the minutes. Very good. Second. Second. We have a second. Please call roll. Mr. Nishwitz. Yes. Mr. White. Yes. Ms. Kimbrell. Yes. Mr. Schweikofer. Yes. Alderman Hicks. Yes. Chairman Bruns. Yes. Minutes approved. That'll move us on to our consent agenda this year, which were there's some change. There were some changes in the executive session.
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