Council Meeting Leftovers
🥡 Council seeks local oversight for East Bank · Gideon's Army bankrolled once again · Planning Commission rubber stamps disputed projects · Judge blocks amendment to ban racing at Fairgrounds · Much more!
Good afternoon, everyone. Council seeks local oversight for the development of the East Bank... Gideon's Army bankrolled once again... Planning Commission approves disputed Vanderbilt and Nations projects... Judge blocks Charter amendment to ban racing at Fairgrounds... And much more!
Early Voting You can vote early for Davidson County’s May 5 Primary Elections until April 30. Find the early voting schedule and sample ballot here.
The Undoing of the West Join us May 21st for a discussion with Vauban Books and writer Nathan Pinkoski for a discussion about French writer Jean Raspail's novel The Camp of Saints. (Buy Ticket)
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Remnants from last week’s council meeting.
From Megan Podsiedlik
New East Bank committee Last week, the council introduced a bill to create the East Bank Design Review Committee (EBDRC). The eight-member committee would wield the power to approve early-stage “concept plans” for developments in place of the Downtown Code committee, giving the body real decision-making power over the design of East Bank/East Bend.
If passed, all members must reside within Davidson County. Representation from five local organizations would be slotted on the committee and the mayor, council, and Planning Commission would also appoint one member each.
As drafted, developers could still ask to deviate from zoning/design rules, though larger changes would go through the EBDRC. Projects would also undergo a concept plan review with input from transportation officials before getting final approval, and developers must secure building permits within three years if a project modification is authorized.
The EBDRC would ultimately add oversight to the development of the East Bank. Though it wouldn’t replace the state’s East Bank Authority, it certainly adds a layer of local control.
Gideon’s Army back on payroll The council also granted $375,000 from the Community Safety Fund to Gideon’s Army for youth violence reduction. Founder of the controversial group, Rasheedat Fetuga, answered questions during Metro’s Public Health and Safety committee meeting last week.
“I mean, you really can't believe everything you see on the news if you want to know the truth,” said Fetuga in defense of Gideon’s Army, given that the group previously exaggerated its success in reducing violent crime in North Nashville. “Our benchmarks have actually been, like, really solid.”
Due to the group’s speckled past, council members made sure to emphasize that the funds come with a clawback provision if benchmarks are not met or irregularities are discovered.
Gideon’s Army cropped up in Nashville following the “defund the police” movement sparked by riots and protests following the death of George Floyd in 2020. Since then, the group has been under fire for having ties to gang members. Fetuga was also banned from Pearl-Cohn High School in 2022 following a profanity-laced tirade in which she allegedly charged into school offices.
During the meeting, Fetuga insisted that those issues have been resolved and maintained that they weren’t linked to Gideon’s Army’s local employees.
“They were actually contractors in national CBI (community violence intervention) models,” she said. “They're part of the program. They're also credible messengers who can, you know, impact things with the youth. But our people were not there yet. They were still in training.”
What Horrors We Wrought In 1973, French writer Jean Raspail published one of the most controversial novels of the 20th century. His novel, The Camp of Saints, has been consistently censored throughout its history.
Vauban Books recently published a new translation of the French story, accompanied by a lucid introduction by writer Nathan Pinkoski. Join us as we discuss the legacy of this controversial novel and what it says about the West.
This event is for the benefit of The Pamphleteer, Nashville, and priced with that in mind. Bard-level subscribers receive free admittance.
BLURBS
🏗️ The Planning Omission Thursday’s Planning Commission meeting was instructive for how development deals move through the city with two highly contentious projects receiving broad pushback from residents in the development’s proximity.
If the planning commission rejects a plan, it means that the proposal must receive a two-thirds majority vote in the council for it to pass. If the commission approves a plan, it requires a simple majority vote.
The first involves a proposal from Vanderbilt for a 43-acre mixed-use development adjacent to campus on West End across from Centennial Park. The Hillsboro-West End Neighborhood Association requested a two meeting deferral in order to give residents in the area more time to digest the plan. Nonetheless, the commission approved the plan unanimously.
The second involves a parcel in the Nations dubbed the Triangle Parcel. Currently an industrial site with a mural along one of the walls in the heart of the neighborhood, then-councilmember Mary Carolyn Roberts approved a plan in 2023 which included 51,000 sqft. of commercial space and 300 apartment units for an “adaptive reuse” development.
Current Councilmember Rollin Horton has pushed for an amendment to the plan at the bequest of Wood Partners that would slash the amount of commercial space, shelve the adaptive reuse component, and tack on a food truck lot to make up the difference.
David Baird, co-chair of the NNA's P&Z committee, relayed to the commission that the Nations Neighborhood Association voted 28 to 15 against the new proposal. And so, Wood Partners presented a new plan at the meeting which would remove the food truck court and replace it with 6,000 sqft of brick-and-mortar commercial space.
As Horton is the Metro Council representative on the Planning Commission, he has a lot of sway over whether or not his own proposals clear the commission. By Horton’s own telling, the neighborhood had not had a chance to review Wood Partner’s most recent proposal. Nonetheless, he motioned for approval of the new plan which was approved unanimously by the commission. DAVIS HUNT
✹ METRO COUNCIL WATCH
New Council Watch Features We've added additional features to Council Watch. In addition to who's funding your council member, you can now see how they vote and who they vote with most frequently. (Take a Look)
HEADLINES
- 🏎 Judge blocks proposed Metro Charter Amendment to end auto racing at the Fairgrounds. Chancellor Pat Moskal blocked the proposal that replaces auto racing with affordable/workforce housing because its title didn’t clearly explain what voters were actually deciding. The ruling stalls the effort for now, though supporters could rewrite and refile an amendment, likely pushing any ballot chance to 2027. (Banner)
- 🪑 Lawmakers approve bill to replace BNA's board with one of their own. Tennessee lawmakers approved legislation that replaces Nashville's airport board July 1. State officials will appoint six of nine new board members starting July. Metro Nashville won a 2023 lawsuit challenging similar state takeover legislation. (NBJ)
- ✂️ A development fast-track bill could rock Nashville. Just before the Tennessee legislature gaveled the session to a close, lawmakers quietly passed a bill that requires city and county governments to approve or deny development applications or complete site inspections within thirty days. If a builder or developer doesn't get an answer in that timeframe, the project is automatically approved. The legislation also reduces how many times local governments can request revisions and bans it from forcing developers to pay for infrastructure not included in their contract. (Fox 17)
- 💲 Tennessee outlaws Bitcoin/crypto ATMs. Tennessee has become the second state to impose a sweeping ban on Bitcoin ATMs, which is set to take effect in July. The FBI reported that Americans aged over 60 lost $257 million to scams involving Bitcoin ATMs last year. (decrypt)
DEVELOPMENT
- Alabama firm plans hundreds of units for West Nashville (NBJ)
- Plans progress for proposed Wedgewood-Houston project (Post)
THINGS TO DO
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
🎸 All Them Witches @ The Blue Room, 6:30p, $13.92, Info
🪕 Bluegrass Mondays with Kyle Tuttle @ Dee's Lounge, 6p, $10, Info
🪕 Val Storey, Carl Jackson, Larry Cordle & New Monday @ Station Inn, 8p, $20, Info
💀 Grateful Monday @ Acme Feed & Seed, 7p, Free, Info
🕺 Motown Monday @ The 5 Spot, 9p, $5, Info
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.