Saturday, October 8, 10:00 am
Brook Hollow Baptist Church at 678 Brook Hollow Rd in the Gathering Room
Please join me and Jay Matheney, District 23 Beautification Commission, this Saturday to discuss the protection of tree canopy.
Announcement by Jay Matheney
A growing number of Nashvillians are beginning to voice their concerns about the impact of our rapid growth to the city’s tree canopy. At present, Metro Codes does have a set of articles dealing with Tree Protection and Replacement, but for the most part, they pertain to protection/replacement of trees during construction, and nothing really having to do with private property owners taking down trees. There is wide agreement among Metro Beautification & Environment Commission members that stronger enforcement of the existing Code is needed, but the reality is that Metro Codes is seriously understaffed to handle the explosive growth and development currently happening in our “it” city.
That means that the place to start is at the community level. My fellow commissioner for District 6, Jim Gregory, has been leading the charge in coordinating efforts to bring together established community groups (e.g., Nashville Tree Foundation, Cumberland River Compact, Metro Tree Advisory Committee) with city administration to forge a path forward. We believe that if we can create enough interest and pressure at the grass-roots level, we should be able to make this a “cause” to support, rather than just a set of ordinances to enforce. That said, tree ordinances like Atlanta’s (I lived there for many years and am very familiar with it) would be a huge win, but need the community to push for them. Otherwise, developers and builders will find a way to block them, or simply skirt them.
We’ve been lucky for the most part to avoid the mass tree clearing that’s happening in other parts of the city, but not entirely, and not for much longer. I look forward to seeing you and hearing your thoughts. (Special thanks to Christina Bennett for spearheading the effort to hold this meeting.)
Jay Matheney
District 23 Commissioner
Metropolitan Beautification & Environment Commission
jaymatheney@me.com
A request to
rezone from RS40 to SP-R zoning to permit 16 multi-family units for
property located at 6817 Charlotte Pike, next to currently under
construction Hillwood Court, was submitted to Metro Planning Commission.
A public hearing is scheduled for Thursday, October 13, at 4 pm at the Howard Office Building, 700 2nd Ave. South, in the Sonny West Conference Center.
 preliminary plan supported by adjacent neighbors
Metro Parks and the City of Belle Meade announced that the overflow parking area at the corner of Page Road and Belle Meade Boulevard will close on November 1.
Parks Director Tommy Lynch said the popularity of the park coupled with an increasing number of users is taking its toll on one of the city’s premiere destination parks. “We have an obligation to be good stewards of the land we manage,” said Lynch. “This is about protecting the parks’ natural and cultural resources for future generations, enhancing the user experience, while also being cognizant of those who live in the immediate vicinity.”
The City of Belle Meade presented a preliminary plan to the Parks Board that would convert the overflow parking space into landscaped green space. “This conversion will create a pleasing and more appropriate entrance to Percy Warner Park and also benefits the neighbors by adding to the beauty of the City of Belle Meade,” said Belle Meade Mayor Jim Hunt. The Mayor went on to say there are still some steps in the process that need to be addressed before anything is final.
There is additional parking available behind Percy Warner Golf Clubhouse, at Gaucho Road near the Steeplechase, at the Chickering Road entrance and in two locations at Deep Well off Highway 100. These sites were selected because they offer easy access to the trail and road systems, and parking can be integrated without significantly impacting the character of the landscape. The total number of new spaces in these lots is 150. Each lot will include a trailhead with map and a Portajohn and will utilize pervious gravel surfaces. The Gaucho Road and Chickering lots will each include new connector trails to the Mossy Ridge (red) trail loop.
Metro Planning Commission reviewed the Lexington Residential (Nandi Hill) PUD on August, 11th.
Although the item was placed on the consent agenda, the public hearing was opened in response to the objection by the property owner.
I presented the case that there has been no activity on the portion of the PUD under the review, and asked Commissioners to find the PUD inactive in order to give us an opportunity to work together with the property owner to install area-sensitive, location-appropriate design standards and zoning. A big thanks to several neighbors who attended the meeting and spoke in favor of finding the PUD inactive.
Planning Commissioners found the PUD inactive and recommended cancelling the PUD and rezoning to SP.
I am currently working with the property owner to rezone the property to "vacant residential SP" as the property owner has no plans to develop it in the immediate future.
 CLC Labor Day Parade 9/3/2016
 Metro Council 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony
 Marine Week 9/11 Remembrance Ceremony at War Memorial Plaza
I was
honored to be asked by Gov. Bill Haslam to join the Tennessee delegation for
the 39th annual Southeast U.S./Japan joint conference in Tokyo in
September. The joint conference celebrates
the longstanding
economic and cultural ties between Japan and
the Southeast United States. The
delegation was led by
Tennessee Economic and Community Development Commissioner
Randy Boyd. Commissioner Boyd has stated “the
strong bond between Tennessee and Japan has transformed
our state’s economy. More than 180 Japanese-owned
companies have together invested over $16
billion in Tennessee, directly employing 44,280 Tennesseans.” In addition, Tennessee companies last year exported
$1.9 billion worth of products to Japan. Below are some
photos from the trip.
 SEUS Yokohama & Nissan Factory Tour 9/19/16
 Sister City Kamakura Tour 9/20/16
 SEUS with Consul General Kinefuchi and former Consul General Sato 9/20/16
 SEUS with Astronaut Naoko Yamazaki 9/21/16
As always, I welcome your input. Please feel free to call me or e-mail me with any suggestions or questions. |
