One by one, supporters and opponents of the Maple Leaf Performing Arts Center lined up at the microphone to speak.

On the Brown County Area Plan Commission’s agenda Aug. 22 was the rezoning of 13.472 acres of Chuck and Marilyn Snyder’s farmland from primary residential to general business. That change would allow the construction of an indoor theater that will seat 2,000 people.

The Snyders have agreed to sell the land for $2 million, but the purchase is contingent on rezoning.

“It’s this or nothing,” said presenter Bruce Gould about the site.

“This will have a huge economic impact on the entire county. The biggest impact will be the need for new motels and restaurants. We’re projecting at least one or two new motels will be needed,” he said. That would mean additional jobs, too, he added.

The Snyders’ land is adjacent to a “significant” commercial district — Salt Creek Plaza — so it’s likely that the property eventually would be rezoned to accommodate business use, Planning Director Chris Ritzmann said in her staff report.

It is also in the same area as one of Nashville’s major “community centers,” said APC member Paul Navarro: The retirement housing cluster of Willow Manor, Hawthorne Hills and Brown County Health and Living Community.

The APC voted 6-1 to send a positive recommendation on rezoning to the county commissioners.

Navarro voted against it because an independent traffic study has not been done. He wanted to know the impact the new concert hall traffic will have on the surrounding area.

After a new road is added to help funnel traffic in and out of the Maple Leaf, there would be five places within about 1,000 feet of each other where roads would intersect with State Road 46 East. Navarro drew a map of them.

He said since the project has not been approved by the county commissioners or council yet, the funding to add lanes to Hawthorne Drive has not been received, and the Snyder property has not been purchased, the APC had more time to study the impacts.

“Why rush it?” he said. “We, as members of the APC, have a responsibility to the citizens of Brown County to study and understand all of this information before rezoning this property.”

‘We need this’

Buying the land and building the Maple Leaf — estimated at $10.2 million for the building, plus $2.3 million annually for operating costs — will be paid for by visitors, not by local taxpayers, since the innkeepers tax is the revenue source.

Around 10 people stood up to express their support for the project, citing the positive impact it will have on tourism and economic development.

“We need this. Tourism is what we have, and we need to take steps to encourage people to come to Brown County,” said Penny Scroggins, owner of Bear Hardware.

Bear Hardware is a nearby neighbor of the proposed Maple Leaf site. Scroggins said when the Little Nashville Opry was open, Bear Hardware was “just a little bit busier because of it, as well as busier throughout the year.”

Nashville Arts and Entertainment Commission President Nancy Crocker also spoke in support of the Maple Leaf. She also owns 4th Sister Vintage and the Olde Magnolia House Inn.

“As an innkeeper, it gets pretty scary January, February and March around here because you don’t have any income. This would give a lot of these inns, especially small ones like mine, income that we won’t have to borrow during that time period,” she said. “I am definitely for the project.”

Mike Laros said he is a big proponent of the Maple Leaf because of the impact it could have on the county. “I am not aware of any other local economic development activity taking place that could have this impact on other things other than tourism and related activities,” he said.

“I have no vested interest in it. It is being proposed by outstanding citizens of the county, not an outside development firm. It focuses on the needs of the county and addresses them specifically.”

Bob Shook, president of the Brown County Historical Society, also spoke in favor. “I think it would add to the tourism draw we have and it would be a spark to recreate the activity, the fun and excitement of coming to Brown County,” he said.

Shop owner and Brown County resident Jeremiah Reichmann said there are many pros to the project, but he also had questions.

“There is not any doubt that the economic impact of this project is a plus for the community; however, that’s all that we’ve heard,” he said. “Residents have not been mentioned at all. It was businesses. It was economic impact for the businesses surrounding the area. There was no talk about the direct impact on the individuals living there in that area.”

He said he grew up behind the Little Nashville Opry. “Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays were a nightmare for traffic for the residents living next to that venue,” he said.

Reichmann said he worked at the Westin Indianapolis hotel as the director of revenue. “I know what it means to get heads in beds, but again at what cost for residents?” he asked.

He also expressed caution about having conventions at the Maple Leaf during the day.

Gould said earlier in his presentation that the seating configuration would make it ideal for musical performances along with conventions and community events.

“If we have conventions during the day, how is that going to impact our access to health care?” Reichmann asked, referring to the doctors’ offices Salt Creek Plaza.

He also questioned how many full-time professional jobs would come out of the venue that would result in families moving back to the county. “What impact economically is this going to affect someone in Sprunica, or out in Van Buren?” he said.

“Yes, there are tourist homes, but the overall impact is going to be Nashville and itself, which is roughly at the most, last count I have is 900, versus the county, which is a little over 15,000.”

Due diligence

About seven speakers expressed concerns about the impact the venue will have on traffic, and how that traffic and noise will affect the 55-and-older population living in the nursing home and apartment buildings.

Concerns were also brought up about the traffic’s effect on air quality.

Brandon Harris serves on the Nashville Development Review Commission. He remarked about the price of the property relative to its assessed value, especially considering it’s being bought with public money. He also wondered about the impact the venue would have on the community — like possibly having to move the Nashville Police Station — and on safety with the increase in traffic.

Gould said a traffic count done last year at the intersection of Hawthorne Drive and 46 East showed 23,000 cars going through per day. “There are (already) huge numbers of cars we don’t pay attention to because they come and go easily. We are planning to improve conditions,” he said.

He said since the venue will have two main roads leading into it — Hawthorne Drive and the new Maple Leaf Boulevard — that traffic could be expected to be split on each road.

Gould said visitors will most likely use the new road because they will be using navigation systems which will take drivers down Maple Leaf Boulevard since it won’t have stop signs.

Chris Ross said headlights shining into resident rooms at Brown County Health and Living could have a negative effect on the health of residents there. “If you’re trying to sleep at 10 o’clock at night and you have a serious illness, how is that not going to affect you?” she said.

As far as traffic control issues, Gould said the Brown County Schools Nashville campus has around 300 parking spots and “every morning, there’s over 300 cars pulling into that parking lot without any police direction,” he said.

Shop owner Nina Leggett also had questions about venue noise, headlights shining into nursing home rooms and whether or not the Nashville Police Department will be torn down. It sits at the junction of Hawthorne Drive and Willow Street, and Maple Leaf plans show a new road going where Hawthorne dead-ends now.

“I am not against it, believe it or not; I just want to know we are actually planning,” she said.

Gould said they’re still negotiating about the police department with the town of Nashville.

Sherrie Mitchell said she was concerned about having 656 parking spots for 2,000 venue guests. She also questioned how it is possible that the innkeepers tax was affected after the Little Nashville Opry burned down in 2009, since data shows it has continued to increase.

Gould said that the number of parking spots “well exceeds” what is required by the local ordinance for a venue that size. He said multiple factors play into innkeepers tax collection increases, including zoning changes and increases in tourist home revenue and motel rates.

Brown County Redevelopment Commission member Tim Clark said when he learned the RDC may be involved in the Maple Leaf approval process, he began researching and coming up with questions. “I stopped at 20 pages before we were told we were no longer involved,” he said.

“This is kind of a big deal. I’ve gone through this plan quite a bit … I don’t know if you can make a zoning decision today. I think if you can, there’s something wrong with the process. You haven’t had time to do the due diligence.”

APC Vice President Carol Bowden said the rezoning hearing is a “starting point” for the Maple Leaf.

“It doesn’t mean that down the road, they won’t run into a roadblock that stops it,” she said. We are only looking at ‘Is this an appropriate land zoning use for the project being requested.’ That’s it, and we make one of three recommendations.”