Board denies plan for 7,000-square-foot indoor sports facility on Joe Roland Road

The Rutherford County Board of Zoning Appeals voted unanimously to deny a special-exception request for a 7,000-square-foot indoor sports training facility at 7487 Joe Roland Road.

Planning staff told the board the proposal (Application 202616) would likely exceed the county’s customer-visit limits for a major home‑based business and "it's anticipated that this use would trigger more than 10 customer client visits in any given day," a standard that weighed heavily in the board’s decision. Staff also distributed letters and two petitions submitted for the hearing.

Applicant Joshua Driver described the project as a fully indoor, insulated facility for football, soccer and agility training, saying he had moved the building back to about 140 feet from the roadway, planned at least 30 front parking spaces plus overflow parking, and would "stagger the teams" to avoid bottlenecks. "We estimate at the most 25 to 30 cars at the most on a peak day," Driver said, and added the business would enforce quiet hours with lights and traffic gone by about 9:15 p.m.

Neighbors and other speakers urged denial. "I am a resident on Joe Roland and I'm here to firmly oppose the zoning request," said Heather Brandon, who cited incompatibility with Rutherford County's zoning intent, loss of rural character, increased traffic and noise. James Fields said the road is a narrow residential lane and warned that the proposal would be a public nuisance; "A business of the proposed type will absolutely be a public nuisance in such a quiet residential area," he said. Several other neighbors cited narrow, curvy roads, existing walking and equestrian uses, risks to children, light pollution from parking and headlights, and dust from gravel parking.

District 8 Commissioner Pettis Reed told the board he had received calls from neighbors and said he was not for the proposal, noting concerns about road width and the practicality of large parking areas on farm soil.

Board members repeatedly questioned whether the scale of the facility — the large building footprint and projected daily traffic — could meet the county's standards for a major home‑based business while preserving the rural residential character of Joe Roland Road. After closing the public hearing, a member moved to deny the request "based on [the] application presents challenges in fully meeting the general requirements for a special exception as well as certain specific standards for major homebased businesses." The motion carried on a unanimous roll-call vote.

The denial leaves the applicant the options of revising the proposal, seeking an alternate zoning approach, or withdrawing the request; board members suggested community meetings could be useful for applicants who might pursue different approvals in the future.