KNOX COUNTY, Tenn. — UPDATE 7/27:
A group of Knox County homeowners has lost their fight to save a green space in the Bexhill neighborhood.
"We had a tremendous amount of support going into this. I am surprised by a few of the votes," one resident said. "I am feeling a bit betrayed by several of them actually."
Developers plan to build restaurants and shops in the green space.
Despite frustration from neighbors, commissioners said they were bound to follow the law and property rights.
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Thousands of people in three West Knoxville communities are fighting developers who wanted to build new properties where neighbors said they wouldn't fit.
Two of these neighborhoods won their battles, and one is still fighting. But all the people involved are learning they have more power than they thought.
A large field sits off Ebenezer Road in West Knox County in the middle of the Bexhill neighborhood
"It's been here since the 70s. Kids have grown up here, kids have memories here," said Megan Potts, who's lived in Bexhill for almost a decade.
She said neighbors use that field to play frisbee and soccer, ride bikes, and just generally recreate.
Now, development company Holrob wants to rezone the land and build a couple restaurants and shops.
"There's a lot of people that care a lot about the land," said Mark Shipe, owner of Holrob. "Truly nobody cared enough to take it upon themselves to mow it or help pay taxes or insurance or anything on the property. We want to do something nice there."
Some neighbors like the idea of some development in that area.
But more than 2,000 are against it, signing a petition to stop the rezoning of the land and preserve the green space.
Potts and neighbor Chrisanne Romeo worry about traffic, since this site sits between the only two entrances to the 300+ home neighborhood.
Kids here walk to Bluegrass Elementary School, and the women worry about their safety as well.
"Why now? It's been here for 40 years. Why now," said Romeo. "We want to preserve the community and neighborhood feel of this area. And we will do everything that we can to prevent it."
They're fighting against a rezoning request filed with the Knoxville-Knox County Planning Commission. Their agenda item was postponed until April at the request of the developer.
As they go through the process, Potts and Romeo looked at the success of two other neighborhoods who dealt with the same thing.
In West Hills, the Knoxville City Council sided with neighbors who argued against a new apartment complex developers wanted to build on the West Hills Greenway.
"300 plus apartments with people coming and going at night and weekends, it was just not a good use of this land," said Pat Medley, who walks on that greenway several times a week.
About 15 minutes away from West Hills in the Northshore Town Center neighborhood, the planning commission agreed with neighbors that a plot of land they want to see developed with more restaurants should not host another apartment complex.
"It was really powerful for me to hear some of these commissioners speak out on our behalf and vouch for us," said neighbor Brittany Ford.
All three of these neighborhoods learned communities have power, so long as they speak up.
"You can do something about it," said Potts. You can organize, you can get behind a group, sign a petition. Just make your voices heard."