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Commissioners deny conditional rezoning for small HVAC/landscaping operation after neighbor opposition
Summary
Davidson County commissioners voted down a conditional zoning request for an HVAC and landscaping business on 8.636 acres in Abbott's Creek Township after neighbors raised traffic, lighting, and property-value concerns; staff had recommended against the visible commercial use in a largely residential corridor.
The Davidson County Board of Commissioners on Feb. 23 denied a conditional rezoning request from Timothy Dildy II and Christine Dildon to change 8.636 acres in Abbott's Creek Township from RA3 to CZ-LI to accommodate a small HVAC and landscaping business.
Planning staff recommended denial, noting the site is surrounded by residential properties, the county land development plan designates the corridor for residential uses, and the applicant's proposed 15-foot buffer was unlikely to conceal a visible business. The planning board had recommended denial 3–2.
Applicants described the business as a three-employee operation and said they wished to live on the rear portion of the parcel while operating a small office and yard. They told the board they were willing to increase buffering, avoid lighting directed onto neighbors, and remove a proposed future warehouse from the plan.
Neighbors cited traffic congestion at nearby intersections, frequent accidents, concerns about lighting and nighttime activity, and potential impacts to property values. Harold Hayworth, who said his family has lived in the area for 67 years, told commissioners, “I don't want to see that change,” and urged preservation of the area's rural residential character.
After extended discussion about appropriate buffer widths, visibility and precedent for nonresidential uses along Hornytown Road, a motion to approve the conditional zoning with a 50-foot buffer (except where septic and driveway conditions apply) and downward-directed lighting failed; commissioners recorded the outcome as a 3–2 vote against the request.
The denial preserves the property's RA3 designation and leaves the applicants' existing business in its current location. The applicants were informed of their appeal rights; staff noted a 60-day window for judicial appeal of legislative zoning actions.
The public hearing, applicant presentation, neighbor testimony, staff analysis and the vote took place during the Feb. 23 meeting of the Davidson County Board of Commissioners.
