Local residents expressed their concerns at Thursday’s city council meeting about a trucking company possibly locating on a 3.6-acre lot on Cheatham Springs Road west of Clark Street.

Bent Tree Trucking Co. representatives said at the March 5 planning commission meeting that the company’s desire is to build a bridge across Cheatham Branch in order to have access to the proposed business site from Cheatham Springs Road.

Carolyn Sapelak, who lives outside the city but on Cheatham Springs Road, said the company locating at the proposed site would present an environmental issue because part of the property is a flood zone area. Also, the property sits on Cheatham Branch, which is a tributary to the Harpeth River.

The trucking business would also present a safety issue with "our children driving down that road," she said.

Furthermore, she said, the road, which is maintained by the city, would not support the truck traffic.

"I think for the betterment of our community, that something like that is not proper development for that piece of property," she said. "I would just like to express my concern about that even before it becomes an issue. We need to stop it before it becomes an issue."

Alan Ball, who lives in the nearby historic Chesley Williams house, said he too is opposed to the trucking company locating on the site.

"I am opposed to something that would be a detriment to our community and a lot of big trucks running down through here," he said. "The road is narrow, and a lot of us own property around, and we just don’t want an eyesore."

Bridget Fitzgerald, who lives on U.S. 41-A south of the city, said she has concerns too about the company.

"As you know I was opposed to the concrete plant, and I don’t think this is any better for our community," she said. "I don’t think it is pretty, I don’t think it is safe, and I don’t think it is good."

Nell Lynch, who is a member of the Eagleville Church of Christ which sits to the north of the proposed site, expressed concerns about noise that might disrupt church services.

Daniel Franks, who lives on Swamp Road, suggested that the site where the concrete plant wanted to locate would be a better location.

"Something that hasn’t been mentioned about the situation on Cheatham Springs Road is what if one of the trucks breaks down and you have a fire on the road," he said. "I think that is a valid concern as far as fire safety and safety of the individuals are concerned."

Jimmy Peach of Spring Hill, whose family owns the Bent Tree Transport Inc. in Brentwood, spoke at the planning commission’s March 5 meeting about the company’s plans.

The item could come up again at the April 7 planning commission meeting, but the city had not released the agenda before the Eagleville Time’s deadline. The planning commission meets at 6:30 p.m. at city hall.

Surveyors have been seen at the site on Cheatham Springs Road since the last planning commission meeting and numerous red flags have been placed around the area.

Peach said earlier that surveyors were to do an up-to-date survey of the Eagleville property and percolation tests for a septic tank have been done already but he was waiting for the results.

The lot is owned by Cecil Lynch and his wife and Derrick Lynch and his wife and is zoned C-2 commercial. The Lynches bought the property from Eagleville Planning Commission vice president Bobby Turner in October 2006, according to the deed.

City planner Bo Logan said the proposed trucking use of the site would fit in the C-2 zoning category of "wholesale sales of consumer goods."

Peach said the company plans to build about a 60 by 80-foot shop with an office attached to it. About a third of the property along the creek is in the flood zone.

Numerous trailers and between three and four trucks would be kept parked on the site, and most of the equipment would leave out on Monday and would come back in on Friday, he said.

The Eagleville site would be a drop off and pickup area for shipments on occasion but not on a regular basis, he said.

The new bridge would be wider than the existing Clark Street bridge in order to accommodate the turning radius of the trucks with trailers onto Cheatham Springs Road, he said.

At the location of the proposed bridge, Cheatham Springs Road is about 18 feet wide and on the south side has about 9 feet of grassy area between the pavement and a farm fence. The north side of the road drops off steeply to the creek with little to no shoulder.

Bent Tree Transport has been located on Granny White Pike in Brentwood since before Brentwood became a city in 1969, said Jeff Dobson, senior planner for the city.

The trucking company’s use of the Brentwood property is considered a non-conforming use but the company has been able to continue operating there because the site was grandfathered in, Dobson said.

The Bent Tree Transport site in Brentwood is shielded from the road by trees and bushes but contains a gravel entrance road and a rutted gravel parking area, a shop-storage building, several truck tractors and trailers, old truck tires and rims, hydraulic crane, various large timbers and steel I-beams, overflowing trash trailer and an old pop-up camper.