CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – A proposed commercial rezoning in Sango was denied by the Montgomery County Commission recently after neighboring property owners voiced strong opposition.

The application failed with 2 yes’s and 19 no’s. The two commissioners who voted yes were Tangi Smith and Jason Knight.

The application by Leroy Fry Jr., owner of Fry Faith Transport and Fry Logistics, to rezone 2.28 acres from agricultural to commercial drew criticism from neighbors and inspired a petition signed by nearly 75 adjacent property owners. Fry said he needed the rezoning so that he could park a few of his tractor trailers on the property.

Stacie Hillborne, one of Fry’s neighbors and an organizer for the petition, considered the decision a big win for the neighborhood.

“We’re glad. I felt confident they (the Commission) would make the right decision,” said Hillborne. “I’m relieved.”

Prior to the vote on Monday, Dec. 14, Commissioner Joe Smith, who represents the area, weighted in on the back and forth involved with the application.

“I was asked by Mr. Leroy (Fry) to come out to his property back in July and discuss things with him, discuss future plans with the place. He was talking about a few trucks and told me he only had one neighbor with an issue, and the rest of them he had talked to, and they were good to go,” Smith said at the meeting.

“Fast forward a couple of months, I got a phone call from one of the neighbors, and subsequently I got a lot of phone calls from a lot of neighbors when the zoning change sign went into the yard. At that point, my phone rang off of the hook. The neighbors that I was told were OK with it were not OK with it. They didn’t mind him parking a couple trucks there, but they didn’t want to see this go to C-5 by any means.”

Proposal to change rules

Smith offered a solution to the dispute: a change in the zoning rules.

“I will work with Mr. Leroy to see if there is an amendment we can make to the zoning rules about the limit of one commercial truck to possibly two or three,” Smith said at the meeting.

While Hillborne was thankful for the commission’s decision, she expressed less excitement about Smith’s proposal. She sees changing the law to accommodate more trucks as a slippery slope.

“It’s still an eyesore, and it opens the gate. Mr. Fry isn’t dealing with two or three trucks, he is dealing with 10 to 12, that’s number that came out of his (Fry’s) mouth,” Hillbourne told Clarksville Now.

“I think he (Smith) is trying to please his constituents on both sides, but I think sometimes, it doesn’t work that way. You can’t be everybody’s friend. I would go back and research why Montgomery County Codes came up with that code. Codes aren’t written for an arbitrary reason.”

Neither Smith nor Fry could be reached for additional comment.