Council Passes Two New Zoning Bills

From Megan Podsiedlik

Which zoning bills passed: During last night’s meeting, the Metro Council passed two of the Planning Department’s four new zoning proposals. Despite an attempt to defer the vote, the bill that creates additional zoning districts passed with a few amendments. 

The council approved Councilmember Burkley Allen’s changes to delay the application of the new zoning districts until April and to codify that the intent of RN and RL zoning is “to complement the established character of Nashville’s single-family and two-family zoned neighborhoods.”

The body also added Councilmember Thom Druffel’s amendment that requires the Planning Department to prepare a report on the number of building permits generated, the number of dwelling units added, and the infrastructure costs incurred by the Metropolitan Government resulting from this legislation. 

The legislation that simplifies the code for detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs) also passed with a few changes. Sponsor Jennifer Gamble added language to the bill to address the need for additional parking in certain areas where construction of a DADU is pursued. The body also passed Councilmember Courtney Johston’s amendment, which decreased the acceptable footprint of accessory dwelling units, and approved Councilmember Druffel’s requirement for Planning Department reports that mirrored the amendment attached to BL2025-1005.

The puppet master: Councilmember Sandra Sepulveda said the quiet part out loud during zoning discussions when explaining that members have already made up their minds regardless of additional community input. 

“The reality is, a month from now, a meeting from now, we're all going to be voting the same way,” said Sepulveda. “So there's no point in a deferral.”

Before she spoke on the floor, Sepulveda could be seen sucking on a lollipop and playing with a toy puppet in a fashion that can only be described as giving off the air of Dr. Evil stroking his cat.

Other takeaways: Vice Mayor Angie Henderson must have eaten her Wheaties before last night’s meeting, and impressively guided the body through what could have been a rocky docket. 

The fact that the body kicked a few cans down the road also contributed to the swift flow of the proceedings. For instance, the vote on the contentious resolution that would create an MOU with the Nashville Downtown Partnership to accept state safety funding for surveillance infrastructure downtown was among a number of items that the body decided to delay during last night’s meeting. 

It’s also clear that some council members have been putting in some work outside of the chambers, which resulted in a bit less tension on the floor. An example of this was the legislation that would establish the Midtown Business Improvement District, which passed on its second reading with little pushback. Sponsor Jacob Kupin made a few changes to the bill, earning the confidence of his colleagues despite previous reservations regarding the BID.

Join Us On December 10th for an evening with writer Aaron Renn. Renn's recent book, Life in the Negative World, talks about being a Christian in a culture hostile to Christianity.

At our event, he will discuss this in addition to the crisis of civic leadership plaguing cities like Nashville. Aaron runs a very popular Substack, has written for The Guardian, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic and was recently profiled in the New York Times. Currently, he's a Senior Fellow at American Reformer.

This is the first in a new series of monthly lectures we'll be hosting. Paying subscribers receive free access to this and future events. (Buy Tickets)

• 🏫 The founder of Nashville’s all-girls BE Academy says her school, tailored to serving black students, wouldn’t exist without vouchers. (WPLN)
• 🔎 Metro Council delays vote on $15 million state safety grant that would fund surveillance and other safety upgrades downtown through an MOU with the Nashville Downtown Partnership. (Fox 17)
• ☀️ Mayor Freddie O’Connell welcomes the expansion of Nextpower to Nashville. The California-based energy technology company is a global leader in tracking systems for solar power, and the new Southeast hub doubles its manufacturing capacity in Tennessee. (Solar Builder)
• 🚨  An investigation is underway after Ashleigh E. McKinzie, an MTSU professor, was found shot dead on Smithville Highway. A loaded and cocked handgun was found lying next to McKinzie’s body. Investigators have since determined that it belonged to her. (Tennessean)
• 🧀 Check your cheese! Over 1.5 million bags of shredded cheese from Great Lakes Cheese Co.—sold under brands like Good & Gather (Target), Great Value (Walmart), and Happy Farms (Aldi)—have been recalled due to potential metal fragments that could cause injury, with distribution in 31 states including Tennessee. (USA Today)

During last night’s Metro Council meeting, a public commentator recited the lyrics of a folk song they recently wrote in opposition to the resolution that would create an MOU with the Nashville Downtown Partnership to accept state safety funding for surveillance and safety infrastructure downtown. 

Do you remember when the mayor famously said, 
That the fight against surveillance was essentially dead. 
He used to be against, now to surveillance he's wed,
“Throw your phone in the river,” he said…

If you don't like it, don't throw your phone away,
Use it to canvas, connect, and convey that we're ready for Freddie to get out of our way.
If you don't like surveillance, here's a trick that might deliver,
Keep your phone and throw this memorandum in the river.

• 

  Via NBJ: TPAC reveals design of East Bank venue

  More info

• Sherman Residential acquires 909 Flats, a 232-unit multifamily property in Nashville.

  MHN

• East End United Methodist Church historic structure in Five Points sells for $1.2M

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• Bobby Nashville Hotel acquitted by Ocean Properties for $50 million

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• 📅View our calendar for the week here. Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
• 🎧On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
• 👨🏻‍🌾Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.

Tonight Fri, Dec 5

🪕 The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12p, Free, Info

🎸 Kelley’s Heroes @ Robert’s Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info

Saturday

Sunday

Today's newsletter is brought to you by Megan Podsiedlik and Camelia Brennan.