Fast food, Neon Unwelcome Here

At a time when many small communities are competing for almost any sort of development to keep their economies alive, this town is doing just the opposite. Change is sometimes viewed as a threat here.

In downtown Nashville, which bills itself the Art Colony of the Midwest, there are no familiar franchises such as Starbucks. A CVS drugstore, a McDonald's and a Subway sandwich shop are on the edge of town outside the "village district" where most shops are clustered. The CVS store's design was changed to match the town's aesthetics. Until this spring, there was a Long John Silver's fast-food restaurant in the village district. Its exterior fit in with the rustic ambiance.

The town council created a Development Review Commission in 2002 to discourage "monotonous, drab, unsightly, dreary and inharmonious developments" and to ensure that business exteriors and signs "protect the village character."

There was a fuss recently when a shop owner painted an exterior window frame blue. She was initially ordered to repaint it but ultimately was allowed to keep it blue. No neon is allowed in the village district. No building can be taller than three stories.

After complaints about bright lights at a gas station, the council prohibited outdoor lights from encroaching more than 5 feet onto neighboring property.

Earlier this year, the council debated banning all chain businesses from the village district. The proposal prompted several letters to the editor of the Brown County Democrat. "If we restrict 'chains' from setting up business here, we're going to restrict ourselves into extinction," wrote Sam Mathis, an area resident.

'Hatred' of development'

A few miles south of here in the unincorporated area of Story, 34 neighbors of the Story Inn bed and breakfast filed a lawsuit in August to prevent owner Rick Hofstetter from holding outdoor festivals, such as the wine fair he hosted in April, because of loud music and drinking.

Meetings of the planning and county commissions about his business often become forums for "the spitting of vitriolic hatred against 'development,' " Hofstetter, a lawyer, said in a legal filing. Kurt Young, the lawyer for Hofstetter's neighbors, declined to comment.

"I have every right to be here and to do what I want on my property as long as it's legal," Hofstetter says. "Sometimes people get set in their ways and become opposed to anything that smacks of change."

Dan Bright's proposal to build 32 condos surrounding a horse arena in Story also has met opposition. The problem, Bright says, "is resistance to change. I thought this would be half as difficult as it's been." Bright got preliminary approval last week to put a wastewater treatment plant on his site.

"It's not our intent to freeze the town in place," says Warren Cole, president of Nashville's Development Review Commission and owner of the Hob Nob Corner restaurant. "It is our intent to conserve the village feel and atmosphere."

Roger Bush, Nashville's acting superintendent — its version of mayor — says he understands why some people might conclude that the community resists change. He says the town, population 873, is just trying to preserve its character so tourists keep coming.

"As soon as you get all that visual clutter, you just become like every other town," he says.

'We can always see the stars'

Nashville was settled by pioneers in the 1830s and incorporated in 1872. It became an artists' hub after impressionist painter T.C. Steele moved to the area in 1907. Many artists are still here, and shops sell handcrafted pottery, glass and jewelry. Others sell T-shirts and touristy items that can be found almost anywhere.

Tourism is the area's top industry, contributing $155 million to the economy every year, says Teresa Anderson, CEO of the Brown County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Opportunities for development are limited, she says, because 60% of the county's land is owned by the state or federal government, most of it parks and forests. Brown County has about 15,000 residents.

Anderson says people are protective of the rustic atmosphere. "We can always see the stars," she says. "We like to sit on the back porch and listen to the birds."

There are trade-offs for that lifestyle, Anderson says. Outside the village district, there are few sidewalks. There's no trash pickup. And roads don't always get cleared quickly after a snowfall. There's one animal-control officer for the entire county. There's no paid town or county manager. "The money's just not there," she says.

David Martin, a member of the development commission and owner of The Toy Chest, notes that the town council is considering annexing land where a developer plans a 250-unit senior citizen complex.

"We want our community to continue to prosper in one way or another," Martin says. The debate over growth and development "is a real tough thing, because in the eyes of some people it's a property rights issue. At what point does what I do with my property negatively or positively affect your property? All of us on the commission struggle with that," he says.

Jennifer Wilkinson and Bob Novak drove here from Louisville for an afternoon of shopping and sightseeing. They bought homemade fudge and wandered through the shops.