Rest Stop pulls its zoning request

Oct. 18--Rest Stop Ministries withdrew its request from the Wilson County Board of Zoning Appeals in a letter Friday morning.

The request, initially brought before the board in June, asked for permission to open a group home in a house on Vance Lane for victims of human trafficking. Richard Parker, who pleaded guilty to killing his in-laws with an explosive device earlier this year, previously owned the home.

The board deferred the request after Rest Stop Ministries founder Rondy Smith asked for her own deferral to pursue a permit for the facility through the Tennessee Department of Mental Health.

Smith told the board during its August meeting the Department of Mental Health licensed the ministry's cause because the women suffered from posttraumatic stress disorder.

County attorney Mike Jennings, who received the letter, suggested the group is trying to obtain the property in other ways.

Smith, according to Jennings, mentioned the Fair Housing Act in the letter, which led him to question the relevance to the request presented to the board.

The definition of disabled includes any person with "mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities," according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The act also prohibits refusal to rent or sell to a person simply because of a disability, which Jennings said doesn't apply.

Jennings said part of the initial request dealt with Rest Stop's plans for partial commercial use of the property. The ministry had plans for the residents of the home to produce and ultimately sell different types of items from the property.

Jennings questioned if commerce would still take place at the sight without approval from the board, which would be a violation of the county's zoning ordinance. He suggested that a possible legal action could be presented to the group if it does.

"We really don't know what we can or can't do or anything like that, because we don't know what the next steps for them are," Jennings said, "...We'll just have to wait and see what happens next."

The request for the Board of Zoning Appeals included two properties and two houses. The first would be for the residents enrolled in the program, and the second would serve as administrative offices.

There are currently two ministries on Vance Lane -- Camp Smiley and McClain Christian Academy. Neighbors previously voiced concerns about the potential danger to the group home's proximity to children and residential neighborhoods.

Attempts to reach Smith for comment were unsuccessful Friday by The Democrat.

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