Click here for original article published July 27, 2011
Written by
Mike Towle
The party's over, for now.
The jubilation Castalian Springs residents and other quarry opponents felt July 14 when the county Zoning Board of Appeals rejected Hoover's request to install quarry/plant operations in Castalian Springs has died down. Now everyone gets to hold his or her collective breath to see where Hoover's legal appeal goes, presumably the next stop being Chancery Court Judge Tom Gray's courtroom.
If Hoover's appeal gets denied in chancery court, the 'quarrysome' Brentwood-based crushed stone and paving company could continue its legal drive to the state level and perhaps beyond. The farther this case meanders away from Sumner County, the greater the chance that, eventually, a ruling could come down in Hoover's favor. County Executive Anthony Holt, an outspoken critic of the quarry, knows this. It's also why Castalian Springs residents, and much of Sumner County, are back sitting on pins and needles.
“The question is how far (Hoover) wants to push it,” Holt said. “I feel good that we've at least won the first battle and have a good chance of winning the war, but we still need to keep them at bay.”
While attorneys from both sides gear up for whatever comes next in the courts, one point in the anti-quarry argument's favor is the Nashville MPO's 2035 Plan. Included in that is a Tri-County Land Use Plan, which encompasses Sumner, Robertson and Wilson counties. The Tri-County Plan expresses a commitment to the protection and enhancement of community character, which, translated, means historic preservation.
In that regard, Castalian Springs is truly a model community. Wanna talk historic? Start with Wynnewood, designated a National Historic Landmark and undergoing a $6 million state-paid repair. Continue with nearby Cragfont, Hawthorne Hill, Bledsoe's Fort Historical Park and the ancient Indian burial grounds. You might as will tear up the venerable grounds at Augusta National Club or bulldoze Williamsburg, Va., or Charleston, S.C., as to blast away at the 350-plus acres Hoover bought smack-dab in the middle of Castalian Springs.
Part of the Hoover-bought acreage is classified as a historic village under land-use terms of the 2035 Plan, Holt said, and that apparently works against Hoover's intended use of the land. Furthermore, most if not all of the land, Holt added, is zoned R1A, which means residential one-acre lots. Still, Hoover plows ahead, apparently confident it will ultimately find a court that will let them pursue their goal. What is it they know that the rest of us don't?
Holt would like to see something legislated that has more teeth beyond just a 2035 "historic village" designation to keep Hoover from turning lush green countryside into a 21st century Stone Age.
“We want the county to grow, but we want growth that ties into what our community already has,” Holt said. “It can't be done overnight. It will take public input, and the citizens will be able to shape it to a certain extent.”
There appears to be a shortcut to an anti-quarry solution, short of introducing new state legislation, that is. McDonald, the state representative from Portland whose district covers Castalian Springs, recently uncovered a Tennessee ordinance -- TCA 13-7 Parts 401-410 -- that could be the county's anti-quarry trump card.
In a nutshell, TCA 13-4 part 4 empowers a county to form an historic zoning commission, which could then establish a historic district or zone as part of a new zoning ordinance or as an amendment to existing ordinances. Castalian Springs would be a plum target. According to TCA 13-7-404, such a rezoning to "historic" would need to meet at least one of five criteria, relative to local events and/or structures of historical significance. Castalian Springs arguably bats a Ty Cobbian 5-for-5 in this regard.
Once again, an issue significant to the future of Sumner County could end up in the hands of our County Commission.
“I'd be happy to propose legislation for this if needed, but the statutes are already in place for the county to proceed with this historic zoning,” McDonald said Monday. “All the county has to do is go through the process of public hearings, and then the County Commission would have to vote and make that change.”
Part 409 of TCA 13-7 allows for an appeals process by an aggrieved party -- such as a Hoover, presumably. As a whole, however, the 13-7 Part 4 ordinance could be the land-use/zoning 99-percent solution that anti-quarry residents and activists are looking for.
The question is, how fast can this county act?
The jubilation Castalian Springs residents and other quarry opponents felt July 14 when the county Zoning Board of Appeals rejected Hoover's request to install quarry/plant operations in Castalian Springs has died down. Now everyone gets to hold his or her collective breath to see where Hoover's legal appeal goes, presumably the next stop being Chancery Court Judge Tom Gray's courtroom.
If Hoover's appeal gets denied in chancery court, the 'quarrysome' Brentwood-based crushed stone and paving company could continue its legal drive to the state level and perhaps beyond. The farther this case meanders away from Sumner County, the greater the chance that, eventually, a ruling could come down in Hoover's favor. County Executive Anthony Holt, an outspoken critic of the quarry, knows this. It's also why Castalian Springs residents, and much of Sumner County, are back sitting on pins and needles.
“The question is how far (Hoover) wants to push it,” Holt said. “I feel good that we've at least won the first battle and have a good chance of winning the war, but we still need to keep them at bay.”
While attorneys from both sides gear up for whatever comes next in the courts, one point in the anti-quarry argument's favor is the Nashville MPO's 2035 Plan. Included in that is a Tri-County Land Use Plan, which encompasses Sumner, Robertson and Wilson counties. The Tri-County Plan expresses a commitment to the protection and enhancement of community character, which, translated, means historic preservation.
In that regard, Castalian Springs is truly a model community. Wanna talk historic? Start with Wynnewood, designated a National Historic Landmark and undergoing a $6 million state-paid repair. Continue with nearby Cragfont, Hawthorne Hill, Bledsoe's Fort Historical Park and the ancient Indian burial grounds. You might as will tear up the venerable grounds at Augusta National Club or bulldoze Williamsburg, Va., or Charleston, S.C., as to blast away at the 350-plus acres Hoover bought smack-dab in the middle of Castalian Springs.
Part of the Hoover-bought acreage is classified as a historic village under land-use terms of the 2035 Plan, Holt said, and that apparently works against Hoover's intended use of the land. Furthermore, most if not all of the land, Holt added, is zoned R1A, which means residential one-acre lots. Still, Hoover plows ahead, apparently confident it will ultimately find a court that will let them pursue their goal. What is it they know that the rest of us don't?
Holt would like to see something legislated that has more teeth beyond just a 2035 "historic village" designation to keep Hoover from turning lush green countryside into a 21st century Stone Age.
“We want the county to grow, but we want growth that ties into what our community already has,” Holt said. “It can't be done overnight. It will take public input, and the citizens will be able to shape it to a certain extent.”
There appears to be a shortcut to an anti-quarry solution, short of introducing new state legislation, that is. McDonald, the state representative from Portland whose district covers Castalian Springs, recently uncovered a Tennessee ordinance -- TCA 13-7 Parts 401-410 -- that could be the county's anti-quarry trump card.
In a nutshell, TCA 13-4 part 4 empowers a county to form an historic zoning commission, which could then establish a historic district or zone as part of a new zoning ordinance or as an amendment to existing ordinances. Castalian Springs would be a plum target. According to TCA 13-7-404, such a rezoning to "historic" would need to meet at least one of five criteria, relative to local events and/or structures of historical significance. Castalian Springs arguably bats a Ty Cobbian 5-for-5 in this regard.
Once again, an issue significant to the future of Sumner County could end up in the hands of our County Commission.
“I'd be happy to propose legislation for this if needed, but the statutes are already in place for the county to proceed with this historic zoning,” McDonald said Monday. “All the county has to do is go through the process of public hearings, and then the County Commission would have to vote and make that change.”
Part 409 of TCA 13-7 allows for an appeals process by an aggrieved party -- such as a Hoover, presumably. As a whole, however, the 13-7 Part 4 ordinance could be the land-use/zoning 99-percent solution that anti-quarry residents and activists are looking for.
The question is, how fast can this county act?
1 comment:
Play that card and do it quick. You got my support.
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