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Explain
Proposal to the Community
Before Rezoning Devil's Elbow Property
To
the Editor:
You may have noticed the signs
regarding the rezoning appeal
just above Devil's Elbow on
Whites Creek Pike. This appeal
would rezone a 5-acre tract from
AR2A (one house per 2 acres) to
MR4 (4 multi-residential units
per acre, for a total of 20
units) on this rugged site.
The map from Nashville.gov (with
the contour shading indicating
the steepness of the terrain) for
this parcel is shown here. If you wish, you can
access this map by going to http://www3.nashville.org/property/ and using the search
feature for parcel 02200020900.
The 5 acre parcel to which I am
referring is in the center of the
image.
To assist in “getting your
bearings”, the drive for
this property is almost directly
across from Ace Exterminator. As
you can see from the topographic
map, only a limited area - much
smaller than the total 5-acre
tract, appears to be suitable for
building. The proposed rezoning
change would allow 20
“units” to be placed in
that substantially smaller area!
However, a much more significant
concern is for the traffic. The
developer has stated that his
intention is to build a
retirement community, with the
entrance to be along the existing
driveway. (Given that there is no
other access to Whites Creek Pike
from this property, there isn't
any alternative.) So, we are left
with the situation of traffic
from potentially 20 residents
(and family members) entering
Whites Creek Pike in a location
with a hairpin curve immediately
below and the intersection of Old
Clarksville Highway with Whites
Creek Pike immediately above.
This situation concerns me, and I
am bringing it to your attention
for your consideration.
This proposal passed the council
on 2nd reading Tuesday, July 3,
2007, with only one dissenting
vote - that of Councilman Sam
Coleman, who asked the sponsor
(Walter Hunt) to defer this bill
until the concerns expressed by
the five people who spoke before
them could be adequately
addressed, or at least presented
to the community. Councilman Hunt
did not honor the request - and
the council apparently was not
sufficiently concerned with the
safety of our community to defer
action.
This bill, officially identified
as BL2007-1520, will be up for
final vote on July 17 at the
Council's scheduled meeting at 6
p.m. (2nd floor, Metro
Courthouse). Unfortunately, there
is no “public hearing”
at the third reading, so you will
not be able to speak at this
meeting. Thus, if you wish to be
heard, you will have to contact
Walter Hunt and/or other members
of the council directly. (It will
apparently take the input from
more than just a few folks - who
aren't opposed to progress, but
who are concerned that this
particular location may not be
suitable for anything other than
that for which is currently zoned
- to get the attention of either
our councilman or the council as
a whole.)
You can directly contact
Councilman Hunt at whuntnash@aol.com. You can also contact
him and other council members
from the web by going to http://www.nashville.gov/council/council_roster.htm and clicking on the
“Email” button beside
each council member's name.
(There is also a link which
allows you to email the entire
council at once.)
This is our community, and we all
should voice our opinions so that
we are heard and so that
development serves the community
rather than the other way around!
To that end, I would encourage
Councilman Hunt to set up a
community meeting (at the school)
so that the benefits of this
proposal to the community may be
explained (either by him or by
the developers); to address the
concerns expressed at the last
council meeting; and to answer
any other questions that arise.
Progress can certainly be good,
but I think the entire community
should be involved in making a
decision that requires a zoning
change such as the one being
requested - and that is all that
I am requesting.
Regards,
Richard Scott
Whites Creek
This is an
opinion letter and the
views expressed are those
of the writer.
Joelton.com posts letters
to the editor as a
community service and is
not responsible for the
content.
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Related:
Devil's Elbow Area
Rezoning Request
Set for July 3 Council Public
Hearing
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