GALLATIN, Tenn. (WKRN) — City leaders in Gallatin are set to vote on a massive, yet controversial, waterfront project.

Foxland Harbor Marina would be built just off Douglas Bend Road, on the north shore of Old Hickory Lake. It would feature more than 200 wet boat slips, over 100 condos, a restaurant, event pavilion, and more. 

It would bring the first new marina in Gallatin in about 70 years. It is reportedly something the residents of Foxland Harbor were promised as a private dock when the neighborhood was first being built around 2008.

However, the project has since evolved over time, and residents are not happy with the scale of what’s now being proposed. Signaling a strong opposition are numerous Facebook groups, a petition with nearly 1,700 signatures, and hired legal representation.

“The more people look at this project, the more they think about this project, the more they listen to neighbors on this project — the more inclined they are to have more questions about the project,” said Tom Lee, an attorney for those against Foxland Harbor Marina. “And I think that’s what the neighbors want: they want their elected officials to listen to them.” 

“When this project was put in front of the Corp of Engineers and they asked for public comment, 85% that responded… said, 'No, this is not right for us,'” Lee added. 

Lee called Foxland Harbor the “Belle Meade of Sumner County;” a beautiful, reserved neighborhood right on the water. He said adding significant infrastructure is not what most residents want or expected when they moved in. 

“The neighborhood has been against this since the beginning,” said Lee. “This marina is not just going to change what happens on the land, this marina is going to transform what happens right in front of your house, every day.”

A key concern amongst residents is traffic flow. The project would be built adjacent to the only entrance in and out of the Foxland neighborhood.

One resident told News 2 he was “amazed by the lack of care” towards traffic studies for this development. 

Another resident said their neighborhood wasn’t designed to accommodate commercial businesses. He believes a traffic study and a ban against short-term rentals should be required in any marina plan. 

Then, there’s an overall frustration with transparency.

“This project keeps changing. This is the third iteration of the project that the city council is going to see [Tuesday night],” said Lee. “It’s had a hotel, it’s had a dry dock, it’s had condominiums… and that’s one of the real problems with this development: what actually is up for approval?”

Developers have scaled back the original plan they put forth earlier this year, which included a hotel. 

News 2 attempted to speak with the developers, Gallatin-based ‘Goodall Homes,’ but were unable to connect with them at the time of this publication. 

Gallatin’s city council will vote on Foxland Harbor, among other hot-button topics, starting at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, July 8.

News Source : https://www.wkrn.com/news/local-news/controversial-foxland-harbor-marina-development-comes-to-vote-in-gallatin/