Bells Bend – A RANRA Community?
06.11.09 9:19 AMThe “Rural, Agricultural, and Natural Resources Act” (RANRA) specifically targets Bells Bend, an 18-square-mile area just west of Nashville encompassed by a U-shaped bend in the Cumberland River. Bells Bend is the proposed site for the controversial May Town Center, a $4 billion mixed use project that developers say would help Nashville attract the next wave of corporate headquarters and the tax dollars they generate.
If Bells Bend is designated a RANRA community, it would stop the development of May Town Center at the state level. Such designation would require the support of two-thirds of the area voters, which at this point seems unlikely.
Recently, Sen. Douglas Henry (D-Nashville) and Rep. Gary Moore (D-Nashville) mailed ballots to all of the 184 tax payers in the Bells Bend area. Of the returned ballots, there were 23 “Yes” votes for RANRA and 76 “No” votes against RANRA.
Additionally, a petition was drawn up by area landowners who oppose RANRA. According to Bells Bend resident Joe Collier: "We already have land trusts in this state that people can opt into and determine what to do with their land. This legislation isn't necessary."
Some Tennesseans see a vote against RANRA as a vote for the proposed development. Said T.K. Davis, an associate professor in the College of Architecture and Design at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville: "It really comes down to the question: Which is more important to all of Metro Nashville? Expanding the tax base … or protecting Bells Bend as a unique agrarian landscape that's a natural asset for all of the people in Nashville."
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