OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Nashville Metropolitan Council Meeting — July 1, 2025: Zoning, Downtown C-BID, and Appointments

Metropolitan CouncilTuesday, July 1, 2025
BodyNashville, Tennessee
SessionMetropolitan Council
DateTuesday, July 1, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record

STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE

Transcript — Verbatim
4:16

Start off by acknowledging the native lands we sit on.

4:21

We are currently sitting on Cherokee, Swanny and UC lands.

4:28

A reminder that no one is illegal on stolen lands congratulations to the Nashville SC team who are thirteen games undefeated.

4:55

Well, we do have announcements.

5:01

We have no presentations today, so I guess you guys didn't want to present anything and be on TV for long periods of time.

5:08

I'm not gonna jinx us tonight.

5:10

So um we are going to go ahead and go into uh announcements, and we're gonna practice our duolingo because my term as pro tem is almost over.

5:22

All right.

5:24

Go on to Hal Evans, que la reconocida.

5:27

Gracias.

5:29

Uh so uh next Tuesday, the 8th at 6 p.m.

5:34

from 6 to 7:30, I'll be holding a um zoning uh meeting for residents that surround property at zero Old Hickory Boulevard, which is behind North Lake Village Shopping Center.

5:47

It's at the Hermitage Library.

5:49

And so please attend, I send out postcards as well.

5:52

So please attend if you're able and interested in a discussion about that particular parcel.

5:57

Thank you.

6:11

But uh the fraternal police every summer takes about 50 children a week for six weeks to camp for free.

6:22

We have three girls' camps and three boys' camps.

6:26

And you may have received uh your invitation from President uh Cottrill, but uh they uh you've been invited to an open house on uh uh July 23rd from 11 p.m.

6:39

or 11 a.m.

6:40

I'm sorry to 2 p.m.

6:42

And the chief normally shows up there.

6:45

Uh we have uh the horses go out there, the motorcycles go out there, um the uh uh SWAT team and horses go out there.

6:53

Uh it's kids really get a kick out of it.

6:57

And again, it's 35 acres on Older Greer Lake, gives these kids uh most of them from uh the poorer parts of town a chance to enjoy some time on the lake.

7:07

Uh they play soccer, they play baseball, softball, basketball, they take them out to swim uh uh at some of the parks here.

7:15

Uh I will try and give you some more information before our next meeting, but I I hope some of you can put this on your calendar.

7:22

Um if you need a ride, uh, I think I'm gonna try and arrange to meet folks that would like to go.

7:27

I meet them at the South Precinct Station, and I'll drive.

7:30

I got I can uh carry six more people besides myself.

7:34

So I hope you'll you'll think about that.

7:36

I think you'd really appreciate um what the police do for the kids.

7:49

Gracias, thank you so much.

7:51

Um uh speaker pro tem uh sepulvada.

7:55

I would like um, I know we don't have a presentation formal, um, but I would like uh vice chair and myself, uh vice chair vo and myself to read um a proclamation from the mayor to the parks department to recognize uh July as uh parks month, if you are okay with that, and um plus if anyone else wants to join us, that's fine.

8:31

But we wanted to make sure we took a moment um and recognize um Nashville's uh park system and especially this month.

8:41

Um, so we will we will do that now.

8:44

Do you want to read the first two and two?

8:48

All right, whereas uh Nashville's municipal park system was established in April of 1901 with Watkins Park as the first park in the city, followed by Centennial Park in 1902.

9:00

And it it is the mission of Metro Parks to sustainably and equitably provide everyone in Nashville Davidson County with an inviting network of parks and greenways that offer health, wellness, and quality of life through recreation, conservation, community, and whereas Metro Parks offers a variety of facilities and programs throughout Davidson County, including approximately 16,000 acres of open space, 189 parks, 107 miles of greenways, 158 playgrounds, seven public golf courses, two splash pads, ten indoor and outdoor pools, ten dog parks, nine or seven historical sites, twenty-seven regional and neighborhood community centers, two hundred and sixty-nine sports fields, the centennial sportsplex, wave country, and a variety of other recreational opportunities and whereas regional and neighborhood centers offer activities for all ages and abilities include fitness classes, youth and adult sports, senior recreational social programs, aquatics programs, free play, and out-of-school programs for youth.

10:10

And whereas Metro Parks connects children and adults to digital resources through the three tech labs at McFarron, Coleman, and Luby Community Centers.

10:20

And whereas residents and visitors enjoy 107 miles of Green Wave are linear parks and trails that connect neighborhoods to schools, parks, transportation, shopping, and work, while also providing barrier-free access to natural resources and recreational opportunities and whereas Metro Parks through nature centers and Beaman Bells, Beaman, Bells Bend, Shelby, and Warner Parks provides quality environmental education and responsible recreation to help protect, preserve, restore, and manage the park ecosystem and all natural resources, while also raising awareness and fostering respect for the natural environment, while also offering a variety of outdoor programming.

11:06

And whereas Metro Parks offers a variety of classes, lessons, programs, concerts, and plays through dance, theater, music, and visual arts, and Metro Parks Consolidated Maintenance Division provides upkeep, repair, landscaping construction, and project management services that benefit all park patrons and whereas park police work to protect and serve countless park patrons, utilizing numerous facilities and parks, community centers, and other facilities.

11:37

And whereas Nashville Parthenon was recognized on a local and national scale for the museum's repatriation and impact exhibit, where hundreds of pre-Columbian Colombian artifacts were returned to Mexico.

11:49

And whereas the plan to play 2025 update will provide the city with the necessary information to ensure the park systems in accommodating patrons as Nashville continues to grow at a rapid pace.

12:01

And now, therefore, we of council and on behalf of Mayor O'Connell do recognize recognize and proclaim July 2025 as Parks and Recreation Month in Nashville, Tennessee.

12:16

Encourage all Nashvilleans to join us in utilizing these great resources.

12:21

Thank you so much, Speaker Pro Tim.

12:27

Speaker Pro Tim, also all um there is a uh survey that's currently available until the end of July online um for folks that want to engage and give feedback on the plan to play.

12:41

Great.

12:42

Thank you, Chair Gadd.

12:45

All right.

12:46

So I would highly encourage everyone to go visit one of our metro parks.

12:51

They are beautiful.

12:52

And if you see anything that needs to be updated, uh go ahead and turn that in.

12:57

You could go to HubNashville.com.

13:01

Um, and uh we will get on that.

13:04

All right, going back to the queue, conceal vo queda reconocida.

13:10

Thank you so much, Pro Tim.

13:13

Uh, we have a lot happening in District 17, so um a lot of uh potential zoning that I really would love the community to engage in.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Zoning and Land Use████████████████████████████████████████████44%
Procedural███████████████████████████27%
Community Engagement███████7%
Public Engagement█████5%
Business Improvement District████4%
Homelessness███3%
Environmental Protection███3%
Parks and Recreation██2%
Short Term Rentals██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Nashville Metropolitan Council Meeting — July 1, 2025

The Metropolitan Council of Nashville and Davidson County met in regular session on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. at the Historic Metro Courthouse. Thirty-five members were present; six were absent (Gamble, Hancock, Gregg, Welsch, Weiner, and Johnston). The agenda included appointments, public hearings on numerous zoning bills, resolutions, and first/second/third reading ordinances. The invocation was offered by Samar Ali, President/CEO of Millions of Conversations.

Consent Calendar

  • The minutes of the June 17, 2025 regular meeting were approved.
  • The consolidated consent agenda was approved 28–0. It included 24 resolutions (RS2025-1326 through RS2025-1348, and RS2025-1350), 8 second-reading ordinances (BL2025-898 through BL2025-905), and 13 third-reading ordinances (BL2025-847 through BL2025-859).
  • These covered notaries public, the mineral severance tax, the HUD Consolidated Plan annual update, leases and grants (Conexion Americas, Kresge Foundation, Nashville After Zone Alliance, Creative Parks Nashville, MDHA homeless services, Office of Family Safety, UKG Kronos, CSX pedestrian lighting, TDOT Arthur Avenue lighting, NDOT facilities maintenance, aerial encroachment, a $29,903.42 settlement, water/sewer infrastructure acceptances, updated building codes, alley abandonments, and various easements).
  • RS2025-1349, honoring the life and legacy of Dorothy “Dot” Dobbins, was removed from consent and adopted 29–0 with all affirmative votes listed as cosponsors.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Four public comment speakers addressed BL2025-846 (Downtown Central Business Improvement District expansion): Lindsay Crinks (Open Table Nashville, co-founder) opposed, arguing BIDs can privatize public space and criminalize homelessness; Kelly Ching opposed, saying the Downtown Partnership had failed to submit budgets to Council for 22 years; Antonio Tomlinson (Nashville Downtown Partnership outreach supervisor) supported, citing hundreds of people reconnected with family and services; Jeanette Barker (District 34 resident and Downtown Partnership employee) supported, saying the expansion is property-owner-driven and at no cost to Metro.
  • Public hearings drew testimony on zoning bills. For BL2025-860/861 (Jones Avenue), developers and a traffic engineer spoke in support; residents opposed density and traffic safety. For BL2025-867 (Skyline Terrace), the developer supported, and Dennis Drive residents opposed short-term rental changes. For BL2025-872/873 (Franklin Limestone Road), developer representatives supported; many residents opposed citing road safety, truck traffic, air quality, and loss of forest/tree buffer. For BL2025-874/875 (Kings Lane), project representatives and a longtime district resident supported; neighborhood residents opposed density and neighborhood character. For BL2025-896 (5000 Ashland City Highway), the owner and employees supported; numerous Bell’s Bend/Scottsboro residents opposed, stating the site was developed under misleading permits, is subject to Metro Codes violations, and conflicts with rural/conservation land-use policy.

Discussion Items

  • Appointments: Alan Slone (Human Relations Commission) was re-referred for interview; Father Edward Steiner (Work Release Commission) was withdrawn by Council Member Preptit.
  • The Rule 9.3 amendment was withdrawn by Council Member Benedict, who said pulling bills from first reading adds delay and that debate should occur at second reading.
  • BL2025-820 (mailed notices for final site plans) had a substitute adopted, changing the requirement from mailing notices to emailing the district council member; the bill was then deferred to the first meeting in August.
  • BL2025-846: Council Member Kupin moved approval; Amendment No. 1 added reporting requirements. Council discussed transparency, THP/homeless arrests, and multimodal infrastructure. The bill passed second reading as amended and was re-referred to the Budget and Finance Committee, with a public hearing set for July 15.
  • BL2025-896: The Planning Commission had disapproved the bill 6–0. After extensive public testimony and debate, Council Member Ellis’s motion to defer one meeting passed 14–13, with a commitment to hold another community meeting and research land-contamination questions.
  • BL2025-872/873: A deferral with an additional public hearing failed because it did not receive two-thirds approval. The bills then passed second reading by a roll call vote of 19–11–3. Yes: Allen, Hill, Kimbrough, Cortese, Capp, Webb, Eslick, Evans, Huffman, Cash, Kupin, Horton, Taylor, Druffel, Nash, Benton, Ellis, Rutherford, Spain. No: Suara, Porterfield, Evans-Segall, Parker, Benedict, Harrell, Vo, Preptit, Sepulveda, Styles, Ewing. Abstain: Toombs, Gadd, Lee.
  • RS2025-1100 (Youth Policy working group) was deferred to the August 19 meeting.

Key Outcomes

  • Six appointments/reappointments were confirmed unanimously: Dakota Galban, Sarah Martin, Carmen Reese Foster, Claudia Weber, Alecia Wynn (Human Relations Commission), and D’Angelo Taylor (Social Services Commission). Council Member Capp was recorded as abstaining.
  • Zoning bills passed second reading: BL2025-752/753, BL2025-829, BL2025-864/865, BL2025-866, BL2025-867, BL2025-868/869, BL2025-870, BL2025-871, BL2025-874/875, BL2025-876, BL2025-877/878, BL2025-879/880, BL2025-881, BL2025-884/885, BL2025-886/887 (with BL2025-886 amended), BL2025-888/889, BL2025-890, BL2025-891/892, BL2025-893, BL2025-894, BL2025-895, and BL2025-872/873 (roll call).
  • Zoning bills deferred: BL2025-727 and BL2025-796 to August 5; BL2025-820 (as substituted) to August 5; BL2025-860/861 to August 5; BL2025-862/863 to September 2; BL2025-882/883 to August 5.
  • BL2025-846 advanced with a public hearing scheduled for July 15.
  • BL2025-896 was deferred one meeting.
  • All other first-reading bills (BL2025-906 through BL2025-947) passed first reading and were referred to committees or the Planning Commission as applicable; BL2025-909 was passed on first reading with its second reading deferred to the September 2 meeting.
  • BL2025-897 was deferred under Rule 8.1 per the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee recommendation.

Meeting Transcript

Start off by acknowledging the native lands we sit on. We are currently sitting on Cherokee, Swanny and UC lands. A reminder that no one is illegal on stolen lands congratulations to the Nashville SC team who are thirteen games undefeated. Well, we do have announcements. We have no presentations today, so I guess you guys didn't want to present anything and be on TV for long periods of time. I'm not gonna jinx us tonight. So um we are going to go ahead and go into uh announcements, and we're gonna practice our duolingo because my term as pro tem is almost over. All right. Go on to Hal Evans, que la reconocida. Gracias. Uh so uh next Tuesday, the 8th at 6 p.m. from 6 to 7:30, I'll be holding a um zoning uh meeting for residents that surround property at zero Old Hickory Boulevard, which is behind North Lake Village Shopping Center. It's at the Hermitage Library. And so please attend, I send out postcards as well. So please attend if you're able and interested in a discussion about that particular parcel. Thank you. But uh the fraternal police every summer takes about 50 children a week for six weeks to camp for free. We have three girls' camps and three boys' camps. And you may have received uh your invitation from President uh Cottrill, but uh they uh you've been invited to an open house on uh uh July 23rd from 11 p.m. or 11 a.m. I'm sorry to 2 p.m. And the chief normally shows up there. Uh we have uh the horses go out there, the motorcycles go out there, um the uh uh SWAT team and horses go out there. Uh it's kids really get a kick out of it. And again, it's 35 acres on Older Greer Lake, gives these kids uh most of them from uh the poorer parts of town a chance to enjoy some time on the lake. Uh they play soccer, they play baseball, softball, basketball, they take them out to swim uh uh at some of the parks here. Uh I will try and give you some more information before our next meeting, but I I hope some of you can put this on your calendar. Um if you need a ride, uh, I think I'm gonna try and arrange to meet folks that would like to go. I meet them at the South Precinct Station, and I'll drive. I got I can uh carry six more people besides myself. So I hope you'll you'll think about that. I think you'd really appreciate um what the police do for the kids. Gracias, thank you so much. Um uh speaker pro tem uh sepulvada. I would like um, I know we don't have a presentation formal, um, but I would like uh vice chair and myself, uh vice chair vo and myself to read um a proclamation from the mayor to the parks department to recognize uh July as uh parks month, if you are okay with that, and um plus if anyone else wants to join us, that's fine. But we wanted to make sure we took a moment um and recognize um Nashville's uh park system and especially this month. Um, so we will we will do that now. Do you want to read the first two and two? All right, whereas uh Nashville's municipal park system was established in April of 1901 with Watkins Park as the first park in the city, followed by Centennial Park in 1902. And it it is the mission of Metro Parks to sustainably and equitably provide everyone in Nashville Davidson County with an inviting network of parks and greenways that offer health, wellness, and quality of life through recreation, conservation, community, and whereas Metro Parks offers a variety of facilities and programs throughout Davidson County, including approximately 16,000 acres of open space, 189 parks, 107 miles of greenways, 158 playgrounds, seven public golf courses, two splash pads, ten indoor and outdoor pools, ten dog parks, nine or seven historical sites, twenty-seven regional and neighborhood community centers, two hundred and sixty-nine sports fields, the centennial sportsplex, wave country, and a variety of other recreational opportunities and whereas regional and neighborhood centers offer activities for all ages and abilities include fitness classes, youth and adult sports, senior recreational social programs, aquatics programs, free play, and out-of-school programs for youth. And whereas Metro Parks connects children and adults to digital resources through the three tech labs at McFarron, Coleman, and Luby Community Centers. And whereas residents and visitors enjoy 107 miles of Green Wave are linear parks and trails that connect neighborhoods to schools, parks, transportation, shopping, and work, while also providing barrier-free access to natural resources and recreational opportunities and whereas Metro Parks through nature centers and Beaman Bells, Beaman, Bells Bend, Shelby, and Warner Parks provides quality environmental education and responsible recreation to help protect, preserve, restore, and manage the park ecosystem and all natural resources, while also raising awareness and fostering respect for the natural environment, while also offering a variety of outdoor programming. And whereas Metro Parks offers a variety of classes, lessons, programs, concerts, and plays through dance, theater, music, and visual arts, and Metro Parks Consolidated Maintenance Division provides upkeep, repair, landscaping construction, and project management services that benefit all park patrons and whereas park police work to protect and serve countless park patrons, utilizing numerous facilities and parks, community centers, and other facilities. And whereas Nashville Parthenon was recognized on a local and national scale for the museum's repatriation and impact exhibit, where hundreds of pre-Columbian Colombian artifacts were returned to Mexico. And whereas the plan to play 2025 update will provide the city with the necessary information to ensure the park systems in accommodating patrons as Nashville continues to grow at a rapid pace. And now, therefore, we of council and on behalf of Mayor O'Connell do recognize recognize and proclaim July 2025 as Parks and Recreation Month in Nashville, Tennessee. Encourage all Nashvilleans to join us in utilizing these great resources. Thank you so much, Speaker Pro Tim. Speaker Pro Tim, also all um there is a uh survey that's currently available until the end of July online um for folks that want to engage and give feedback on the plan to play. Great.

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