Petition may force two-thirds vote to APPROVE Bible Park

A petition may make it much harder for the developers of the Bible Park USA to get their development approved.

The petition, signed by landowners of property surrounding the 282 acres where developers hope to build the Bible theme park, has been submitted to the Rutherford County Planning Department. If validated, that petition would require that a proposed rezoning of the land be approved by two-thirds of Rutherford County Commissioners rather than by a simple majority.

The 21 member commission is set to vote on the rezoning Thursday.

In order to force the two-thirds vote, the petition would have to be signed by 20 percent of all owners of land adjacent to the property being rezoned, according to County Attorney Jim Cope.

County officials are currently reviewing the petition in order to determine if it is valid and hope to make that determination by the end of the day, Rutherford County Planning Director Doug Demosi said.

Demosi said the petition had been submitted in a timely manner.

The $175 million to $200 million park, which developers want to open by 2010, has drawn some heated opposition from Blackman residents and others in the county, while many in the business community have spoken out in favor of the park, citing its potential economic impact to the county.