The Area Plan Commission decided to give no recommendation on a Nashville brewing company’s request to rezone a property at Old State Road 46 and State Road 46.

At a meeting Tuesday evening, the board voted 4-1 in favor of passing Big Woods Brewing Company’s petition to the Brown County commissioners with no recommendation. Board member Joan Wright provided the lone no vote.

Owners of the Big Woods Brewing Co. want to rezone 1.75 acres of land at 1792 Old State Road 46 from residential to general business in order to turn the buildings located there into a beer bottling and distribution center as well as a kayak/bike rental facility.

Owner Jeff McCabe called the property perfect. He said his company planned to restore a 1920s cabin and the former home and studio of artist Charles Barnes. And, the location would give Big Woods the additional brewing capacity it needs, provide more exposure to its beer and direct tourists into Nashville, he said.

Those in opposition filled the meeting room to near capacity. The nine people who spoke stressed that the area is residential. Such a business, they said, would bring unwanted and unsafe amounts of traffic, unpleasant smells and sounds from the brewing and bottling process and a reduction in water pressure for fire protection.

Many of those in opposition that spoke said they supported Big Woods and their success in Nashville at serving quality food and beer, but they felt the owners had chosen the wrong location to expand.

The issue before the board was land use. The choices were positive recommendation, negative recommendation or no recommendation to commissioners.

Many in the audience did not like the board’s decision to take no position.

The decision to rezone now goes to commissioners. The matter is currently on their agenda for the July 3 meeting, which starts at 6 p.m. and takes place in the second floor meeting room of the County Office Building.