HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Drivers turning off New Shackle Island Road onto Eagle View Drive have little room for error. The effort includes a sharp turn, a busy road, and infrastructure improvements the city says should have been done years ago.
Hendersonville is now taking developer Eagle View LLC and Siddharth Amin to court after the city says nearly two years of attempts to get the developer to finish promised work went nowhere.
Neighbor Caitlin Callis said she wants the developer to finish what it started.
"I think based on the developer promising things and not living up to that, I think that I'm here for it, I guess," Callis said.
Callis also described the visibility problem she faces every time she pulls out of the neighborhood.
"It's hard to see cars coming to and from," Callis said.
Mayor Jamie Clary said the unfinished work includes a drainage issue next to the state highway and a dangerous 90-degree turn that creates hazardous conditions for residents.
"It should be wider and it should have better opportunities, safer opportunities for people to turn in and turn out," Clary said.
Clary said the city spent nearly two years trying to get the developer to complete the work.
"So there's a little bit of a drainage issue right through here, next to the state highway as well," Clary said.
The city said it will now step in and complete the work itself at a cost it argues should never have fallen to taxpayers.
"What the city is going to have to spend out of our own pocket is about $550,000 and it's not something that the city and the citizens of Hendersonville should have to pay for. It's something that the developers should have to pay for because he agreed to it and he's the one that made the profit off of the sales and the homes and the properties," Clary said.
For residents of Eagle View, the issue goes beyond drainage and road safety because it comes down to who foots the bill when a developer walks away from its commitments.
Clary said the case also sends a message to other developers in the area.
"They know that Hendersonville is going to hold their feet to the fire. This is a rare situation where a developer didn't. We can't let one developer get away with that," Clary said.
Whether the city recovers the $550,000 will now be up to the courts. I reached out to the developers involved in the lawsuit and will update this story if they respond.
Have you dealt with unfinished infrastructure in your neighborhood, or do you have a story tip about development issues in our area? We want to hear from you. Watch the full report above and share your experience with reporter Kim Rafferty at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com.
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