The Nations neighborhood in Nashville has long been celebrated for its vibrant community, rich history, and unique character. The families and individuals, both old and new, who call the Nations home cherish its charm, diverse architecture, and welcoming atmosphere. However, our beloved neighborhood is under threat of overdevelopment driven by a zoning proposal that prioritizes developers over community welfare, after garnering only 1.9% of our neighborhood community's support through a sales pitch from our Councilman who makes false promises of more affordable housing, greater tree canopies, more sidewalks and walkability, even though no monetary resources have been allocated to the Nations by the City for these items.

In reality, this proposed zoning overlay is a sweeping up-zoning of ~330 acres that will convert a wide range of single family, multifamily, commercial and industrial properties to High Density multifamily (RM40-A-NS) which would allow up to 40-unit apartment complexes as tall as 50 feet in height to be developed on a single acre of land throughout our residential neighborhood. This will drastically alter the landscape of the Nations, and has the ability to turn this close-knit community into a neighborhood of rental apartments and impersonal structures. These changes don't just threaten the aesthetics of The Nations; they risk displacing longtime residents, disrupting the neighborhood's character and erasing the rich history that made The Nations what it is today. 

WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?

1. Sign this petition, talk to your neighbors and local business owners.
   
   
2. Share this petition: Post on Nextdoor and local Facebook groups.
   
   
3. Visit our website Voice of the Nations for the FACTS or to get involved.
   
   
4. Email City Council and our Councilman, Rollin Horton to express your opposition. 
        Metro Council:  councilmembers@nashville.gov
        Rollin Horton: rollin.horton@nashville.gov 

This massive rezoning effort has been pushed forward by our Councilman despite a flawed and inadequate public process that has ignored the will of the residents. To be clear, the proposal had approximately 1.9% of Nations households (51 people) in support of this plan, with the majority of households and small businesses (2,200+) unaware that this was moving forward without our input, and without time to review and fully understand the implications such a massive rezoning would have on our neighborhood and livelihood.

Many neighbors learned about this plan for the first time LESS THAN TWO WEEKS before the planning commission's hearing when signs were posted around the neighborhood. This plan was also added to Metro Council's meeting agenda for second reading and vote on August 5th, even before taking this to the Planning Commission for recommendation, and without any type of formal correspondence from our Councilman to constituents informing them of the plan that is personally sponsored by him on behalf of our Neighborhood. To add to the short timeline with which we had to respond, our Councilman packaged these two proposals together (UDO and residential rezoning) so that if one passed, the other would pass too. 

Why does our Councilman feel such urgency to push this forward for approval without input from 98% of neighborhood constituents? What is the rush? What is his agenda? Is this related to the fact that he is running for a leadership role on the Planning Commission with appointments to occur on September 2nd?

THE ESTABLISHED PROCEDURE FOR A CHANGE OF THIS MAGNITUDE CALLS FOR ENGAGMENT WITH THE ENTIRE CONSTITUENCY, NOT JUST A MERE 1.9% of RESIDENTS.

At the Planning Commission meeting in late July, several Commissioners suggested that our Councilman engage in more conversation with the Community. He was given the opportunity to defer the vote at the meeting, and again at a Town Hall that he hosted on August 30, but declined to do so both times without input from ~98% of the Neighborhood households and many of our long-time neighborhood businesses.  

This proposal was voted on at second (public) reading (the public's last chance to voice our concern to Metro Council) on August 5th and passed. The third reading will be voted on without input from the public so this is our last chance to call on our Metro Council members to ask them to deny this proposal!

WE HAVE ASKED COUNCIL TO DEFER THIS VOTE to give us more time to digest the information we have received. We want an opportunity to have a seat at the table to help design a plan that will best serve our community, and where our voices will be heard. The neighbors, old and new, who have been witness to the transformation and gentrification of the Nations over the last two decades do not support the proposed plan in its current form!

The infrastructure in the Nations is not equipped to support the high density that the overlay plans would bring. Increased traffic, strained public services, and environmental impacts as well as parking and safety issues all pose serious challenges and we have not been provided adequate information to support his promises that all of these things will be addressed with the rezoning. This massive rezoning has been proposed without a Traffic Impact Study. Meanwhile studies have indicated a 35% increase in traffic congestion in areas where similar zoning changes were implemented, leading to increased pollution and safety hazards.  Additionally, the Nations is lined with tanks that store thousands of gallons of fuel on Centennial, with tankers transporting fuel into and out of our neighborhood daily. How will the increased traffic impact these fuel companies, and have they been informed of the proposed changes to Zoning or been solicited for feedback? Has a safety study been done to determine blast radius? There is currently no known evacuation plan in place should an emergency event occur, nor has a recent blast zone radius study been completed or provided with this plan.

Metro's own Staff report on the UDO admits to an unfunded $24MM deficit for necessary water and sewer upgrades which are needed to support additional density. The Nations does not need more over-zoning based on the aspirational wishes of our Councilman who confirmed that one block of sidewalk has been promised to us as part of this plan. We need a to address infrastructure issues first and foremost.

We call upon the Nashville city officials to reconsider the proposed zoning overlays and collaborate with the community, hear our voices, and ensure that any development plans align with the welfare of Nations’ residents, not just our Council Representative.

By signing this petition, you are advocating for a neighborhood that honors its past, values its present, and plans responsibly for its future.

Please stand with us in protecting the Nations from overdevelopment, and support a sustainable, inclusive growth plan that preserves the unique neighborhood we have grown to love.