HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn (WTVF) — A proposal to build 64 new homes on 114 acres near Hendersonville has faced overwhelming opposition from nearby residents, who voiced their concerns at a packed meeting of the Sumner County Planning Commission on Tuesday.
The plan for the Hunter Ridge subdivision has stirred up fears over increased traffic, environmental damage, and the potential disruption of local wildlife habitats.
At the heart of the debate is the developer's plan to connect the new subdivision to Timber Hills Road, a dead-end street many residents say is ill-equipped to handle the added traffic.
“The big issue for us is that the developer wants to connect to our dead-end road to put all of the traffic going into the new development,” said Todd Word, a Timber Hills resident of 17 years. “The traffic study shows it will add 660 additional trips per day, most of which will come down our road.”
Word, along with several neighbors, attended the meeting to urge the planning commission to vote against the proposal.
“We have turkeys, deer, foxes, and other wildlife here,” Word continued. “These are the creatures we know of. This development could destroy their habitats.”
While developers for the Hunter Ridge project, including Cal Gentry (president of Civil Land Co.), acknowledged the concerns, they argued that the development complied with county rules.
"We understand good planning, we understand the rules, but we don’t want to tie to Timber Hills or build a road down there," Gentry said. "We don't want to build the road down there, we don't want to tear down the tree, we don't want to do any of those but it's the rules that are in place that we told the landowner we would operate on when we got the contract to do this deal. We said we will abide by the rules."
Despite the developer's assurances, the planning commission sided with residents. The proposal was unanimously rejected, with commissioners citing concerns about traffic, road capacity, and the environmental impact, especially in light of strong opposition from Timber Hills residents.
The residents’ victory has strengthened their resolve to ensure that their concerns are heard in future planning decisions.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at (kelsey.gibbs@newschannel 5.com)
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