Heirs of late Nashvillian Luke Lea, the businessman and politician who bequeathed the land now known as Warner Parks, have asked a court to formally rule whether a proposed road would violate restrictions in the 1928 legal documents conveying the land to the city.
The proposed road immediately caused a stir with Warner Parks patrons and Belle Meade residents when it appeared as the central recommendation of Metro’s Belle Meade Highlands Design and Mobility Study in January. The study notes that traffic to Cheekwood Estate & Gardens, particularly on peak days, “exceeds recommended volumes for neighborhood streets, causing unsustainable conditions, safety concerns and frustration,” as well as creating parking overflow that requires coordination between Cheekwood and the city. The proposal rankled many loyal park users and provoked organized opposition within Belle Meade and across Lea’s extensive lineage.
Local attorney David Bridgers filed suit in Davidson County Chancery Court Monday on behalf of Lea’s descendants, led by Leah Knox Rubino. Bridgers names Metro Nashville as the counterparty and asks the court to formally rule whether such a road would violate the initial terms that govern the land’s bequest. Plaintiffs appeal to Lea’s condition that his land be used solely for “public park purposes.” Such a violation could return the land — hundreds of acres in the city’s wealthiest neighborhood — to the Lea family.
Boulevard sidewalks and a new Cheekwood access road have run into staunch opposition from residents
“To be perfectly clear, we, the heirs of Luke Lea, do NOT want the park to 'revert and revest' to our family, as the covenant requires,” reads, in part, a statement provided to the Scene by Rubino on behalf of 16 direct Lea heirs. “We do not want to take possession of this land; we simply want the terms of the covenant to be honored. If this road is built, the primary beneficiary would be Cheekwood. In fact, finding a new route to Cheekwood to take traffic off neighboring streets was the reason such a road — as well as four other options — was even considered. If the road is built to meet the needs of Cheekwood, it violates the deed.”
The lawsuit now sits in front of Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal. Among its dozen exhibits, the complaint — filed Monday morning — includes several significant legal documents detailing the historic relationship between Lea’s covenant, Cheekwood and the city. Original land documents include other conditions on the property, such as Lea’s rule that his land not be used for any “zoological purposes” nor any athletics other than golf. Modern park uses include horse trails, mountain biking and cross-country racing.
William Newton Knox Jr., Elizabeth Lea Knox, Oscar Cromwell Tidwell III, Percie Tidwell Snider, Mary Louise Lea Tidwell, Randal McGavock Lea, Elizabeth Lea Crockett, Sally Lea Nance, Margaret Lea Misko, Mary Louise Lea Murphy, Percy Warner Lea, Margaret Lea Knighton, Chris Lea, Graham Lea Jackson and Overton Lea Jr. join Rubino as plaintiffs.
"Cheekwood is not a party to this lawsuit," Cheekwood representatives tell the Scene in a statement. "Metro’s exploration of improved traffic access in Belle Meade is solely a Metro matter over which Cheekwood has no authority. It is important to understand that the Metro road matter is unrelated to Cheekwood’s development of new parking on its own property. Cheekwood's large investment in a new parking facility is in complete compliance with Metro’s desire that Cheekwood transition parking to Cheekwood's property, and is an express condition of the Memorandum of Understanding unanimously approved by the Metro Parks Board. Cheekwood’s new parking pavilion simply relocates parking from Metro Parks' property that had been utilized for this purpose for decades to Cheekwood property and uses the same access on Forrest Park Drive as it has for decades. The new parking facility, while having less capacity than the former surface parking lots on Parks property, will allow Cheekwood to continue its mission of providing a place of peace and beauty for Nashvillians for many years to come."
