Brentwood Planning Commission Votes to Allow Harley Davidson

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In a vote of 2-5, the Brentwood Planning Commission struck down the motion to rescind the permit for the Harley Davidson site planned for construction, which means plans to build will proceed as planned.

The meeting room in the Brentwood Municipal Building had few empty seats on Monday night as community members concerned about the noise and traffic that will come from the Harley Davidson store voiced their concerns to the planning commission.

The site plan for the Harley Davidson store was approved during the March meeting of the Brentwood Planning Commission, with only about five residents in attendance. Monday night’s meeting was the only chance that community members had to give their say, and by then it was too late.

Roger Horner, city attorney, gave an address to the room that outlined the legal issues with rescinding the motion to approve the site. Horner said that the applicant, Harley Davidson, could potentially challenge the city in court if they decided to rescind the approval because the 60 day period for reconsideration had expired, and that courts would need hard facts for disapproving the plans despite the uproar from the community.

Horner read two letters, one from the legal representative of Harley Davidson pointing out that the 60 day period had expired as well as mentioning that their client had spent a considerable amount of money already on the project. The other letter came from the legal representative Tinsco, the owner of the property for the proposed Harley Davidson site which reiterated what was said in the previous letter as well as citing Tennessee law.

The planning commission listened to the cries of community members for a full hour before closing the comments and calling for a vote.

Community members’ concerns centered around not only the residents of the Willowick subdivision, which stands only 187 yards from the proposed site, but also regarding the Gardener Daycare and Preschool positioned directly across the street from the proposed Harley Davidson site.

As the planning commissioners closed the comment period and discussed that they had little legal footing for the rescinding of the approval, the crowd mumbled and hissed, but the only reconciliation the commission could offer was defining a better notification process for future issues such as these.

Commissioners Sandi Wells and Janet Donahue were the two members who voted for the commission to rescind the motion to approve.