The real impacts of bad planning proposals
History tells us that modern zoning plans often have negative impacts on people living in low-density neighborhoods. We have identified six overarching impacts, including property tax increases, expensive development, loss of community voice, increased land prices, gentrification, and environmental impacts, that come with sweeping rezoning. These changes can disrupt the quiet character of our communities and the folks who’ve lived here the longest pay the price.
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More homes, higher prices, no affordability gain
Zoning reforms have mostly added high-priced housing. The theory that these units will eventually become affordable through "filtering" hasn’t been happened. In fact, affordability is eroding as lower-cost options disappear faster than new ones arrive.
How Nashville can actually address the affordability crisis
A real strategy must come first. Surprisingly, Nashville already has one: the Unified Housing Strategy (UHS) 2025. It identifies the actual problem—a shortage of affordable housing for the city’s lowest-income and workforce families—and recommends starting with those who are most in need.
The current rezoning push promises affordability, but rarely delivers it where it is needed most. The term is used so broadly that it often applies to housing that is priced beyond what working-class residents can afford. True affordability means homes for the workforce and those with lower incomes, not just smaller units for higher earners. The Missing Middle approach may help a narrow slice of upper-tier workforce households—but only in theory. In practice, 15 years of zoning reform have yielded more expensive units, rather than more affordable ones.
Market-rate vacancy is already over 10%, showing that supply exists, but not at the prices people in crisis can afford. Nashville should return to the UHS—a plan it already has—focusing on affordable, targeted solutions, rather than increasing density for a market already overserved.
Who we are
Save Our Nashville Neighborhoods, Inc. (SONNinc or SONN) is a grassroots, neighborhood-led coalition working to protect community voice, community vision, affordability, and livability across Davidson County. Formed in District 23 and now active citywide, SONN helps residents decode zoning and housing reform, challenge who actually benefits from proposed changes, and advocate for policies that reflect the lived experience of real people, especially working families and long-time neighbors, the very people who create the communities that give Nashville its unique character.
We invite residents, leaders, and policymakers alike to work with us, not in opposition, but in collaboration. SONN offers a space where shared goals can take shape, where practical solutions rise from real neighborhoods, not imposed blueprints. Add your voice. Bring your ideas. Help us build a better path forward—one that genuinely serves the people who call this city home.
Who we are
It's time to stand up against reckless zoning policies
What is really happening with Nashville's zoning plan?
Nashville is considering new housing policies that would rezone neighborhoods to allow denser development, such as duplexes, triplexes, small apartments, and higher densities—changes that are described as subtle. City leaders are promoting these changes under the idea that it will create more affordable housing. However, this plan is based on a broad theory—that if we build more housing in general, prices will eventually go down for everyone.
But there is a major problem with this approach: the city’s own research already identified that Nashville’s true housing crisis is not a general shortage—it is a shortage of affordable rental homes for its lowest-income families. Specifically, the data indicate a projected shortfall of 20,000 units (with a current deficit of 15,000) for individuals earning less than 60% of the area’s average income. Even more concerning, the very zoning reforms being promoted today—the Missing Middle, which involves splitting lots and adding dense “tall skinnies”—have already fueled one of the highest gentrification rates in the country. These reforms have acted as an engine for displacement, not relief. How does it make sense to expand a "movement" that has already caused this harm?
Get all the facts
Issues around housing affordability are complex. The media often presents the perspectives of special interest groups – politicians, developers, and outside consultants. And what is reported is often purposely over simplified. We believe you should have the whole story. Below are important facts that you should know about.
Nashville housing in perspective
Back in 2015 Nashville recognized there was a wave of growth coming and expanded the zoning codes to allow more density. The plan, called NashvilleNext, was adopted to allow for more density in areas that make the most sense – without destroying our neighborhoods or displacing long-time residents. The plan worked. In fact Nashville is number two in the country after Houston for adding housing in the core areas and is a model for cities accross the country [attribution]. What's more, the rate of growth in Nashville is slowing according to macrotrends.net, so the Next plan is still the best plan. --THE NUMBERS NEED TO BE VALIDATED AND ATTRIBUTED--
New housing units currently being built in Nashville
13,000
Davidson County
From ?????
Updated
Building permits approved just in March this year
1289
Davidson County
From Federal Reserve Bank data
Updated May 10, 2025
Houses currently for sale under $375,000
162
Davidson County
MLS residential listings
Updated May 10, 2025
Average days a home is are on the market
51.5
Davidson County
From MLS
Updated May 10, 2025
Frequently asked questions
The real impacts of bad planning proposals
Modern zoning reform sounds good, but in low-density neighborhoods, it often puts profits over people. It brings in expensive development, pushes up land prices, and causes property taxes to rise fast. These changes can disrupt the quiet character of our communities. The folks who’ve lived here the longest usually don’t see the benefits — but they do pay the price.
IMPACTS
More homes, higher prices – no affordability gain
Zoning reforms have mostly added high-priced housing. The theory that these units will eventually become affordable through "filtering" hasn’t been supported by real-world data. In fact, affordability is eroding as lower-cost options disappear faster than new ones arrive.
As residents of Nashville, we see these planning proposals through the lens of lived experience shaped by years of investing time, care, and resources into our communities. While we understand the importance of managing growth and addressing housing needs, we believe these goals must be pursued with a clear understanding of neighborhood context, local identity, and long-term livability.
SONN is not resistant to change. We simply demand city leaders and planners to implement thoughtful, place-based decision-making that respects the people who already call these neighborhoods home.