TOWNSEND, Tenn. — On Thursday, the Townsend Planning Commission voted against recommending a four-acre parcel of land for a new camping development.
The company, Yonder Hospitality, wants to build 130 modern cabins. The four-acre parcel would have 23 cabins with pavilions on them. The resort would span a total of more than 27 acres.
The plans include 36 parking spots, a movie theater, a dining area and a pool with hot tubs. More than 1,000 community members in Townsend signed a petition against it. A campaign also emerged, named "Keep Townsend Peaceful."
"Townsend is a beautiful place to be, but what we don't want is the chaos," said one resident at Thursday's meeting.
A sea of orange shirts flooded into the planning commission meeting, urging leaders not to approve the plans. Neighbors said that Townsend has enough campgrounds for visitors, and cities like Pigeon Forge are already popular tourist destinations. They said building the resort would harm people who call Townsend home, both during tourist season and outside of it.
"You come here because you want nature. You want the birds chirping, you want to find something different on this side," said another resident.
However, Mayor Don Prater said increasingly more developers are looking at building in Townsend. He said the city is working on updating its community plan to help balance life for everyone in the community.
"We have a responsibility for Townsend to stay nice for our residents, our visitors and our businesses," he said.
Although the Planning Commission recommended against the rezoning, the request is still headed to the Board of Commissioners who can choose to approve it. Developers must get approval from the commission.
They will work over the coming months on a final site plan, and they will need approval on it before work can begin.
"It's going to be something we can't share to the next generation. What's going to become of Townsend, it's not going to have the appeal it did," said another resident at the meeting.