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Board denies Watkins' major home‑business for concrete/rock recycling amid neighbor concerns about traffic and dust
Summary
The board denied Ezekiel (Zeke) Watkins' request to operate a major home‑based concrete/rock recycling business that would store materials and host commercial truck activity, after neighbors and staff cited heavy truck use on a disputed ingress/egress easement, dust and driveway damage.
Rutherford County planning staff presented Application BZA‑202610 for a major home‑based business to permit outdoor storage of concrete and rock materials at 1472 Highway 41A South and to allow commercial truck activity Monday through Friday. Staff said the materials would be stored within an earthen berm and that no new structures were proposed, but flagged that the property is accessed by a roughly 2,500‑foot private ingress/egress easement over another owner’s land, raising compatibility and access concerns.
Applicant Ezekiel (Zeke) Watkins (speaker 38) said he had owned the property since 2002, that a residence and operations had been approved in the past, and that the recent increase in stored materials was driven by a special, one‑time acquisition. Neighbors who live along the easement and adjacent properties spoke at length about continuous commercial traffic since 2024, dust and silica concerns, trucks turning over septic lines and private drives, repeated trespass and safety problems, and an ongoing litigation over the easement. Several neighbors documented damage to drives and reported customers becoming lost because large stockpiles block sight lines.
Board members and staff noted the property's agricultural surroundings, active litigation over the easement and inconsistent tax‑card records about a residence; staff found the operation exceeded minor home‑business parameters and recommended denial. A motion to deny passed by roll call.
