There was no decision at last night’s Metro Council meeting on the expansion of Fontanel, where owners want to add a hotel and meeting space to the forested music venue.
It’s one of the most visible skirmishes over maintaining the rural character in parts of Davidson County. Council members asked for more time so that amendments can be added to address concerns about outdoor lighting and the fate of an archaeological site.
Not all the neighbors are opposed to Fontanel’s expansion. Some say that the new structures — which include a banquet hall, pool, hotel and spa — would actually look like a farm and fit in with the surrounding area.
Linda Thompson Jarrett from nearby White’s Creek is optimistic.
“What’s cool about it is, not only are they promoting our lifestyle and our rural roots, they’re paying for it,” Jarrett said. “They’re privately, privately funding this park-like space that they’re letting us all use for free.”
Three-quarters of the Fontanel property will still be devoted to green space. Supporters say that’s better than building a big subdivision.
But opponents say they don’t want the extra traffic, and neighbor Laney Marsh criticized the project’s sustainability, because it’s in a floodplain.
The Metro
Planning Commission has disapproved the Fontanel expansion, because it doesn’t fit with a newly written
community plan for White’s Creek. Because of that, approval from the Metro Council would require a two-thirds majority.
The vote was postponed for one meeting.
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