A twice-denied petition for rezoning a property has picked up the pace and is now headed for the courtroom.

Heron Homes, which is owned by Harrison Hale, has filed suit against the City of McMinnville after multiple attempts to rezone property it owns on Pace St. in the northern part of the city limits.

The residents near Pace St. have fought the rezoning of a parcel of land since 2023. This parcel, which totals over 34 acres, belongs to Heron Homes and the company seeks to place homes on it. Of the 34 acres, 20 lie within city limits and there have been two failed attempts to have it rezoned. Its initial effort was to rezone the property from R1 residential to Planned Residential District (PRD), but it returned last December to petition to be zoned R6 smart growth, which would carve out the allowance for up to 60 homes on the parcel.

Both attempts to rezone the property floundered when they reached the Board of Mayor and Aldermen due to the impassioned pleas of residents who felt the development of the parcel would prove detrimental to their properties and livelihoods in some way. Residents of the surrounding streets cited concerns for spot zoning, damage to property values of pre-existing homes, traffic increases, the inability for current road infrastructure to handle it and risks for pedestrians and children due to said traffic.

Named in the civil summons, which was notarized on Feb. 12, 2025 in Rutherford County and delivered earlier this week, are the City of McMinnville and the entire Board of Mayor and Aldermen: Mayor Ryle Chastain and aldermen Steve Harvey, Sally Brock, Deitra Dunlap, Rachel Kirby, Keri Morton and Kara Youngblood.

Heron Homes alleges it addressed all public concerns during both the Planning Commission and Board of Mayor and Aldermen meetings and met all requirements and specifications to qualify as R6 smart growth. Properties must be 10,000 square feet to be zoned as R6 and the Pace Street location is 15,000 square feet. Estimations during meetings suggested only up to 60 homes would be built on the land, which is only 10 more than what is permitted with an R1 zoning.

In the suit, Heron Homes states the Mayor and Aldermen’s refusal to approve the rezoning application “exceeded the statutory authority conferred upon it by TCA §§27-8-101 et seq and 27-9-101, et. seq. and TCA §§13-7-201 et. seq., was arbitrary and capricious, and was not supported by material evidence.”

The suit continues on to state the denial of Heron’s rezone request is “not only unsupported by any material evidence before it, but that evidence was solely in favor of approval” as it maintains it met all specific requirements of R6 zoning and it was stated in meetings by city employees that said requirements were satisfied.

R1 and R6 properties are fairly similar in their uses, but the primary differences are some of the special exceptions and minimum size of individual lots. Both are designed for single-family detached dwellings.

Properties zoned as R1 have a minimum lot size of 15,000 square feet - 75 feet width, 40 feet depth for front yards, 50 feet depth for rear yards, 15 feet depth for side yards and 40 feet sides on corner lots. On the other hand, R6 requires lots to be at least 10,000 square feet - 80 feet wide, 35 feet depth for front yards, 20 feet depth for rear yards, 15 feet depth for side yards and 35 feet sides on corner lots.

Heron Homes requests the court to issue its writ of certiorari – which means it asks for the court to review a lower court’s decision – and remove matters from the city and direct them to certify and forward the court a complete transcript of proceedings containing all proof as submitted to the Planning Commission and Board of Mayor and Aldermen.

Per its suit, Heron Homes is requesting costs associated with this cause and to receive further and general relief it is entitled to in addition to the court’s determination the application for rezoning was denied without due cause and evidence. This would mean the rezoning could be pushed through, if the court deems it valid and sides with Heron Homes in this suit.

City Administrator Nolan Ming declined to comment when contacted, saying the city would not comment on an active lawsuit.