Planning commission denies rezoning request after neighbors cite noise, traffic and storage concerns

The Rutherford County Regional Planning Commission on June 9 denied a rezoning request that would have reclassified 7474 Lebanon Pike from residential medium density (RM) to commercial general, a change applicants said would legalize on-site repair activity for cars sold there.

The action matters because the request would have removed the limits in a preexisting conditional use permit and allowed repair work the county says exceeded the site’s original 2005 approval, prompting months of complaints from nearby residents.

Planning staff member Doug DeMasi told commissioners the rezoning application grew out of a zoning enforcement action. He said the property had a Type 3 conditional use permit from May 2005 allowing automobile sales but that county staff later discovered repair activities and numerous vehicles stored outside that were not covered by the CUP. “At some point, we’re not certain when, the property started offering car repair activities which were not part of their original conditional use permit approval,” DeMasi said.

Applicant Mohammed Akmal told the commission he and his partner run a small dealership and asked that the property be rezoned so they could “repair my own cars, not somebody else’s car, just my own cars,” and said recent cleanup and a privacy fence were in place. Co-owner Bindi (who spoke at the hearing) said he typically keeps fewer than 20 cars and that most vehicles are his inventory being rebuilt for resale.

Neighbors disputed the applicants’ description of operations. Brad Minkin of Waldron Crossing testified that approval would lower nearby property values and increase noise and “additional road congestion on an already busy two‑lane road.” Eric Palmer, whose house borders the lot, said grinders and pounding from bodywork sometimes continue late into the evening and that he and his family “don’t even go on our back porch” because of the noise. Several other residents echoed concerns about environmental risks from fluids and solvents, safety during vehicle deliveries and the number of cars stored on and near the site.

Commission discussion focused on past noncompliance with the 2005 conditional use permit and the county’s limited enforcement options for that permit. DeMasi said the CUP remains valid but acknowledged enforcement gaps: “They’ve been operating this whole time … we just don’t know when the repair activity started.” Commissioners raised whether denial would require tighter enforcement of the CUP; DeMasi said legal staff would need to weigh whether the county could revoke the old permit, but that the county could pursue enforcement measures to make the property comply with the original 2005 conditions if the rezoning were denied.

A motion to deny the rezoning passed; the planning commission announced the motion carried and the request was denied. The denial means the property may continue to operate only under the terms of the existing conditional use permit (which staff said allowed car sales but not the additional repair activities described at the hearing), and that continued or renewed repair activity would be subject to enforcement action.

The planning commission record shows the owner and tenants had previously been advised to clean up the site, and staff told the commission that if the property later sought rezoning and redevelopment it would need an engineered site plan, buffering from residential neighbors and any required state approvals for access on the state highway (TDOT).