Some tears, then a “yes.”
Neighbors objected to building a wedding venue on Old Settlers Road, but last week, members of the Brown County Board of Zoning Appeals gave it their blessing.
This was the second emotional meeting that the BZA had hosted about the wedding barn, proposed by Kamady Lewis.
Lewis, who grew up in Brown County as Kamady Rudd, planned to build this business on 19.5 acres that her parents, Marc and Kelly, had bought. The land had hosted the annual Old Settlers Reunions off and on since the 1800s, but it had sat as a vacant field and woods for at least 10 years.
Eleven neighbors spoke against the plans at a virtual BZA meeting in May. At the time, Lewis was asking for permission to build a 9,000-square-foot building and enough parking for about 180 cars.
After hearing the neighbors’ and BZA members’ concerns, she asked to take a month to rework her plans and came back to BZA on June 23 with changes. Most of the same neighbors also came to the June meeting, which was conducted in person, and raised many of the same objections despite the site plan changes.
Lewis offered to reduce the size of the building by almost two-thirds to 3,375 feet, reduce the building occupancy from 200 to 100, and reduce the number of parking spaces to 50. She also moved the building site further from the back property line in an effort to shield its view from neighbors. In addition, she proposed angling the entrance/exit in a way that would hopefully shield the across-the-road neighbor from headlights, and planting a dense row of evergreens to create a “nature gate” along the whole front of the property.
“Cutting our numbers by this much will drastically cut down the level of noise and amount of traffic during a given event,” she said in her revised proposal.
She also proposed increasing the venue’s operating hours. Originally, they were going to be from 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays only. The revised hours were those plus being open until 6 or 8 p.m. Sundays to Thursdays.
No one spoke in favor of the petition besides the petitioner.
Eight neighbors either spoke their own thoughts or on behalf of another neighbor who couldn’t be there, and one of them handed in a spreadsheet containing objections from 10 neighbors including some already in the room.
Ruth Ellen Evans said that it was great that the occupancy and parking had been cut down, but “it wouldn’t matter. If this petition had been brought to us the first time as 50 we’d still oppose it, because we’re a small little community, a small little road that can’t hardly handle us that live on the road.”
She and several other neighbors worried for the safety of their families with guests coming in and out for parties, and after they may have had something to drink.
Litter, noise, overflow parking clogging the road, the safety of kids riding bikes, possible catastrophic accidents, “vandalism and disrespect,” lack of vigilance by the security officers who will be hired for events, and the general disturbance of the peace and normalcy of their neighborhood were also reasons the neighbors opposed it. Three commenters were moved to tears by thoughts of how their neighborhood would change in undesirable ways.
“Other than that, as a community, as a residence, you can’t have a better community,” said neighbor Brent Bohbrink after he listed his concerns. “As a family, if you built a home there, you’d be embraced. … You’d probably have 15 hot dishes at your house. I don’t want you to think we’re against you moving to the property … just not the business at hand.”
Lewis said that she’d been a bridesmaid 19 times and had shot and edited video for multiple weddings, and she’s never heard of the kinds of major problems the neighbors were describing.
She said they weren’t trying to make anyone feel unsafe, and that as a “rule follower,” she would make sure that guests were respectful of the rules.
She told the board that she’s quitting her career and moving back home here from Ohio with her young family so that she can be on site for every event.
She said she understands the way Brown County roads are because she grew up on narrow, gravel Jackson Branch.
As for the noise, she predicted that neighbors would be much more bothered by the level of sound already coming from the Bill Monroe Music Park, the Brown County Dragway and even the cicadas than by the noise-insulated wedding venue.
BZA member Randy Jones made a motion to deny Lewis’ request for a special exception for a private recreational development, but it only received two votes from the five members.
BZA member Darla Brown then made a motion to approve with several conditions, including hours of 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays and noon to 8 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays.
Sniffling could be heard from the audience.
Brown said she felt like the petitioner had gone out of her way to accommodate the neighbors’ concerns, and the neighbors had already lived with noise from other businesses in the area for years.
BZA member John Dillberger said that the noise from other businesses had him thinking that maybe this neighborhood had endured enough without adding the burden of another business.
The approval motion carried 3-2 with Brown, Deborah Bartes and Buzz King voting yes and Dillberger and Jones voting no.
Evans asked about appeal options and was told she could file an appeal with Brown Circuit Court within 30 days.
“I sure hope nothing happens to our children,” she said as she left the room.
