Thou Really Shalt Not Build: Hispanic Church's Zoning Request is Denied
It took two hours, a Metro lawyer and a unanimous vote of the Board of Zoning Appeals to deny the Iglesia de Cristo Su Gran Alabanza Assembleos de Dios its request to build a church on Haywood Lane in Antioch.
The congregation—which we wrote about last month—recently purchased a lot on Haywood without doing due diligence to see whether they could build a church there. As it turns out, the community long ago enacted regulations to prevent commercial building of any kind, including churches, on the street.
Earlier in the summer the Iglesia de Cristo applied for an exemption to the zoning and neighbors showed up in force before the BZA to protest, led by their Metro council member Jim Hodge.
This time around wasn’t much different...
At least 60 neighborhood residents—all white, mostly graying—were there, with Hodge at the front of the column. Steve Morgan, the architect who designed the church spoke on behalf of the congregation, which was represented by four pastors in dark suits who don’t speak much English.
In our story, some of the neighbors came off as a little less than culturally sensitive. It took about an hour and 45 minutes for that sentiment to rear its ugly head again. BZA member Fabian Bedne, who also heads the Middle Tennessee Hispanic Democrats, pointed to a comment in an email he’d received from one of the neighbors. The comment intimated that the large, rear yard of the church might become a place where street gangs would congregate.
“I find that personally insulting,” Bedne said, taking his glasses off with a serious frown. “Why would you assume that a Hispanic church would be a place that gangs would congregate?”
Unfortunately, Bedne asked the question after the period for public questions and answers had expired. We’ll never know why someone would make that assumption. (We'll leave it to you, dear commenters, to speculate.)
Our article was brought up a few times at the hearing, most “humorously” when BZA chair David Ewing asked Morgan why he thought there was so much opposition to the church.
“The paper tried to come up with some reasons,” Morgan said.
“You can’t always believe everything you read,” Ewing responded.
Ha, ha.
At the last BZA hearing, the board requested a traffic study of Haywood Lane. This makes sense, as most neighbors say their number one concern is the increase in traffic. According to neighbors, there are 150 accidents a year on the narrow, winding road that connects Nolensville Pike and I-24.
Iglesia de Cristo paid for a traffic study and discovered that if built, the church would increase traffic by .66 percent on Haywood only four days a week, when the church holds services.
Morgan also testified that he had designed the property to be as green as possible, including a parking surface that allows grass to grow through it.
This wasn’t enough for the neighbors. One lady testified that she cultivates “wildlife” on her property, such as blue jays, robins and butterflies. “If they build,” she told the BZA, “[those critters] are gone.”
Testimony about runoff, traffic studies, variances and zoning regulations moved along at a glacial pace until finally the board closed public discussion and began its debate.
At this point Ewing noted that neighbors were well represented by many voices. He also pointed out that, aside from Morgan the architect, there hadn’t been much advocacy from the church itself. Bedne seconded this sentiment. The two seemed to be saying that because of this, combined with traffic problems, they would vote to deny the exemption.
Their five colleagues apparently agreed, and a unanimous vote was cast, denying the the church the right to build.
“This is an injustice,” said Ananias Martinez as he walked from the room. Martinez is a friend of church pastor Jorge Dominguez. “This was a political decision. If the board wants to see us bring people forward to testify, then we will bring 1,000 people here.”
Unfortunately for the church, it’s a little late. BZA rulings are final and can only be appealed in court. Unless they want to hire a lawyer, the congregation will have to find some way to either sell or use the property at 343 Haywood Lane. Maybe it won’t be a hard sell. The property is huge, has lots of green space and sits in a semi-rural setting. As it happens, Mike Hodge sells real estate. It would be ironic if the two groups could only come together as a means of moving apart.
Either way, it will give the good people of the Iglesia de Cristo something to pray for.
Comments
The problem with hispanics is that everywhere in TN where they settle, gangs and graffiti quickly follow. They also flood our public schools with their anchor babies. They steal our jobs and suck up social services, and the VAST majority of them are illegal aliens who should be promptly deported.
Posted 08/22/2008 at 12:31:51 AMI was hoping that Miller's type of comment would come a bit later....but we are in Nashville after all.. Miller per say what job has a Hispanic stolen from you?
Posted 08/22/2008 at 07:36:58 AMEr, Jim, gangs are not merely a Hispanic creation. They were around long before the current demographic changes. And you know what? The gangs of southern white-trash thugs running around beating the daylights out of sit-in protesters and freedom riders of the last century's Civil Rights Movement compares to anything a contemporary Latino gang dishes. There are white members of non-Latino gangs in here Middle Tennessee.
But go ahead and vent your prejudice. Don't let truth get in the way.
Posted 08/22/2008 at 10:34:18 AMI live in a section of East Nashville (not around 5-points btw) in which at least 50% of my neighbors are Latino, including myself. I have a master's from Vanderbilt as well as 3 other Latinos on my street alone. The other Latinos on my street are not as formally educated but work hard, and are great neighbors. I have not seen graffiti or gang activity in my 3 years of living on our street. The problem with people like Jim Miller are his absurd generalities. When people, regardless of race, class, or background feel like they are unwelcome trouble for those who are unwelcoming either follow or are perceived to follow. Perception and generalizations are tricky beasts. Nashville in my 8 years here (from Austin, TX) has become more progressive in many areas, but Latino relations is not one of them. regardless of how you feel about it, the influx of Latino residents (leagal or illegal...and I would dare say most are not illegal Mr. Miller) will only continue.
Posted 08/22/2008 at 10:49:13 AMAnonymous,
Jim printed his name. You didn't.
"This is Nashville"? What is that supposed to mean? Just because the truth is sad, doesn't mean it isn't true. I know lots of contractors, builders, renovators, etc. They simply cannot complete with illegal immigrants. I have no personal animosity towards any of these people but if they aren't legal, they need to go home.
Posted 08/22/2008 at 11:11:11 AMI think it's great that we are sharing our community with people from other cultures, backgrounds, etc. I have no problem with that because this is America.
What I do have a slight problem with is the sense of exclusivity I tend to run into on Nolensville road. I love Las Cazuelas, but I always get the 'gringo' treatment when I go there. Same goes for many other establishments. It's not nice to feel unwelcome in your own hometown, especially when you can remember back when that area was much less Latino. If you want to foster a good relationship between the Latino community and the rest of us, you've got to stop acting like that stretch of road belongs to you and you alone.
Posted 08/22/2008 at 11:23:32 AMWhat is with the whining about Nolensville Road? If you want to feel more welcome, then invest some friggin' time and lots of money there. Volunteer to work at a church or non-profit in the neighborhood and get to know the locals (which may require, God forbid, learning some Spanish). I can't think of anything that garners more accommodation than throwing your money at local businesses, including overtipping servers.
I can't imagine that bellyaching about getting treated like a gringo would evoke the slightest empathy.
Posted 08/22/2008 at 12:28:01 PMWhat exactly is the gringo treatment?
Posted 08/22/2008 at 01:02:20 PMGringo, do you think you're the only one that may feel uncomfortable in those situations. When a cultural exclusion of people exists, and it does for Latinos in Nashville, you cannot expect those same Latinos to feel an overwhelming urge to welcome members of such an exclusionary community, whether you're the one doing the excluding or not. I would venture to say most white folks in Nashville don't practice exclusion, but enough do and are loudly vocal about their disdain for our presence that, as I said above, generalization can and does occur.
Posted 08/22/2008 at 04:44:05 PMI was at the hearing and Mr. Tobia has once again twisted the truth and tried to make this look racial. The BZA voted to deny the special exception (not exemption) in large part based on the Metro Planning Staff's recommendation to disapprove because it is a non-residential use and is in direct violation of the Special Land Use Policy put in place in 2004 by the area residents who live and own property in and around the 26 southside lots--one of which the church purchased. The ruling was based on zoning regulations that say that this would have an adverse impact on the adjacent properties. The church knew about this special policy before they purchased the property. The church ignored that advice and purchased the property anyway. With respect to the comment about gang activity. One church on Haywood Lane has had problems with gang graffiti being painted on buildings several times. Metro Police confirmed it was an Hispanic gang's symbols. One of the residents who lives close to that church simply was concerned about that happening at this proposed church. It was not meant to be an insult towards Hispanics. It was simply the truth at that time at that particular church. I agree with Mr. Ewing's comment, "You cannot believe everything you read." It seems to me that if it is published in The Scene, then it is almost certainly guaranteed to not be the whole truth.
Posted 08/22/2008 at 10:38:13 PMAmen to all AW posted. I, too, was at the BZA hearing. (Both times.) If the reporter for the Scene wanted to be factual, he should have done more research and perhaps spoken with some of those 60 Haywood Lane residents present. By the way, I live on Haywood Lane and I do NOT have grey hair.
Posted 08/22/2008 at 11:28:37 PM