Planning Meeting 3-14

Last night was the monthly planning commission meeting. There was one public hearing item. Public hearings are new to the planning board. Public hearings were added last fall after an outspoken member of the community showed up and spoke after a meeting. (yes, that was me) The only item up for public discussion was the Raymond Hirsch Parkway Townhome Development.

Out of the 30 people at this meeting, only six spoke. The first two women were there representing their mother whose property is next to the proposed development. Their arguments were very strong, starting with the fact that they were only notified of the meeting by mail less than a week before the meeting. They felt they weren’t given enough notice to create a petition. They also argued that the property would better serve the community as a commercial property. Another complaint was that there was too much currently in progress in town. I spoke about the traffic issues on I65 spilling on to 31W and Raymond Hirsch. I also brought up a moratorium on building until the current projects are complete. Mike Wall asked that the city “pump the brakes” on the building. The water treatment plant is still 18 months from being finished with the upgrades and there are concerns that the state will be up in arms over it. He also brought up the trouble we are having hiring police officers and again, that property would be better served as commercial space.

The two people who spoke for this development were both of the listing agents. Paula Nash, White House native, and Catherine Andrews both spoke in favor of this development. When Nash first spoke it was hard to decipher if she was for or against the project. She talked about how the property didn’t have a clean deed and it was her company, Benchmark, that finally got the deed clean. She discussed how she was raised in White House and remembers her grandmother’s store. She finally got to the part where the property had been listed in 2012 when her time was cut off. She then finished with she was embarrassed by the city of White House. Andrews went on about how Nashville is spilling out into the surrounding areas. “Growth is part of the chaos.” She proceeded to say that every town needs housing and White House doesn’t have enough rooftops for big businesses. She praised the developer, Elmington, and said, “They will make it happen.”

Here is where it gets interesting. What was missing from the public information was what the developer had to say. This project is 120 rental units run by an HOA board. There will be a manager and a full time maintenance on site, but not a single unit would be owned by the resident. While they are technically “local,” they own and manage properties in 14 different states. This is an example of what they do.

Ceagus Clark spoke about the town center and did state that this type of development would fit with that design. Tim Murphy (new to the board) asked for more concessions from the developer for the owners of the property nearby, and wondered if this were a waste of valuable commercial frontage. At this point Nash spoke up again and said that the property owners could not attend as the husband had had a heart attack. They really wanted to be there but could not. Bob Dorris spoke up at that point and said that he would not vote to change this zoning. “We need to get a grip on what we’ve got. It’s time to slow down.” At this point Nash spoke up again. This time she talked about what a majestic and pristine property this was, and how it had been worked by slaves. Honestly, those of us sitting in the back had no idea what that had to do with anything. Clark, planning director, said a mixed use property would be better served there while a multifamily development would create issues. Adam McCormick brought up concerns about drainage on the property. At that point a motion was called for. Bob Dorris put forth the motion to deny, and Richard Berry was the second. The vote was done by a raise of hands. There were several that did not raise their hands high, so it was hard to tell who voted this down. When the minutes come out, I will accurately give you the count. What I can say, is that this project was denied. They can still bring this before the BOMA, but the planning commission will NOT recommend it.

*The argument seems to be that we need houses to get a Target or a Sam’s club or more restaurants. Here is where I go into opinion. Many of us moved here to be part of a small town. Many of us want more Deja Moo and Colorado Grill, not Target and Applebee’s. There was a way to keep the small town and add homes and businesses. Putting 1000 homes in half a mile on a two lane country road was NOT the way. There are already communities with Targets and Outbacks. We wanted a place where our kids could bike to the park and the local Subway. That’s gone. That’s frustrating. The local politicians forgot that they work for the citizens of the city, not the developers that show up with shiny bills and sidewalks. Please keep showing up to these meetings to remind them who they work for. *

If you want more information about issues surrounding rental communities, please look into the World Economic Forum. It is not my job to tell you what to think, it is my job to bring you information. Keep vigilant, there is a property on New Hall Road that was going to be developed into a rental community, 947 units. It fell through, but a new developer is looking at it. Watch the BOMA and planning commission agendas. Keep this link to follow what they are doing.

*denote opinion added to the article.