WKRN News
Posted: Dec 30, 2011 9:20 PM CST
By Joseph Pleasant, Reporter
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -
Concerned neighbors living near the Nashboro Village Golf Course are fighting a plan by Metro Nashville to purchase the golf course and turn it into green space.
Neighbors worry selling the golf course will hurt property values and community safety.
The Metro Nashville's Board of Parks and Recreation plan to take up a proposal to buy the 144-acre golf course at its January 10th meeting.
The city plans to pay $595,000 for the land, according to parks officials.
"This is a beautiful course," said Bob Preston, a 9-year homeowner. "There is no reason for it to close the functionality of it."
Preston, like many of his neighbors, bought his house, in part, because of the access to the golf course.
"I did it so I could enjoy a golf course and the way of life," he said. "That is being taken away."
Neighbors told Nashville's News 2 they first learned of the pending sale from a letter sent to them by District 29 Councilwoman Karen Johnson.
"I don't want a park. I don't want ball fields. I don't want community centers," long-time resident Gary Peterson said. "I want a golf course."
The golf course closed in November. It has been up for sale for about five years, according to neighbors.
Some neighbors would rather have a private buyer take over the golf course. They worry that the city could later rezone the land for commercial development.
"I think it will have a negative impact on our entire village," neighbor Jo Beth Hastings said. "There are 1,970 homes out here."
She continued, "It was built and designed around a golf course, and the impact it's going to have will be huge."
Other neighbors worry about safety. Currently, the golf course is private property and people can be cited for trespassing if they are on the golf course without permission.
The course backs up to the back of many of the residents homes. They worry about having a city park right outside their back doors.
"We would have people in back of our houses were we would have no control," neighbor Jacquelin McCoy said. "My house is one of the homes that is actually sitting on the golf course."
McCoy continued, "I think there will be a lack of security."
McCoy and other neighbors want Metro officials to consider their concerns before finalizing the sale.
They say a private buyer has shown interest in purchasing the golf course. They would not reveal the identity of the buyer.
"We bought into this with our dollars," McCoy said. "I am hoping they will listen to the community and not decide on their own."
The Nashboro Village Golf Course would be the latest course purchased by the city and turned into green space.
Metro Council approved the purchase of Ravenwood Country Club in Hermitage. The city paid nearly $3 million for the 181-acre once private country club earlier this month.
The city plans to adjoin the land with the nearby Stones River greenway.
Councilwoman Johnson did not return a message left by Nashville's News 2 for comment.
She plans to host a community meeting about the sale on January 5, 2012 at Smith Springs Church of Christ, located at 2783 Smith Springs Road.
