The plan to reshape your neighborhood is only one vote away at Metro Council

Article by Christopher Remke, AIA (ret) • 7 minute read

They are taking away your seat at the table and introducing the “tool” to reintroduce “Residential Small Scale” — and some are not small.

This Mayor, Metro Council, and Planning Commission are on a determined track to silence your voice in the future of your own neighborhood.

We’ve seen this playbook before. In March 2024, WSMV reported on the NEST proposal (BL2024-185), which aimed to “change what can be built in Nashville single-family neighborhoods” by deceptively redefining apartments as “Residential Scale Multifamily.”

Today, we are facing the exact same agenda - only now it's bigger, and specifically designed to eliminate your input entirely. The journey from the brutally honest NEST legislation to today’s proposals is a professionally directed scheme. It's the same plan, just dressed up for the party.

This administration is inviting the multifamily camel to put its nose under your tent.

If you aren't familiar with the analogy: A tent owner allows a camel to put just its nose in the tent during a sandstorm. Bit by bit, the camel moves in until the owner - you - is the one left outside in the storm.

The tactics of deception

Don't be fooled by the spin. They are using smoke and mirrors to push this through:

The Justification: Inflated population projections and a superficial "Housing and Infrastructure Study."
The Slogans: Repeating calculated phrases like "all neighborhoods need a diversity of housing" and "neighborhoods are not complete without housing options.”
The "Tools": Presenting the radical new Residential Neighborhood (RN) and Residential Limited (RL) zoning as just "tools for the toolbox."
The False Assurance: The hollow claim that "you are protected by your Council Member."

The un-talked-about Quiet Truth:

Once the new zoning “type” is in place (after the initial adoption), every future multi-family multiplex or stacked-flats is pre-approved behind closed doors. No meetings, no hearings, no voice. Your neighborhood becomes a stage where the script, cast, and outcome are decided without you. Planners call it “streamlined,” Council calls it “progress,” but it functions as a silent rewrite that removes you from your own story.

The ultimate question is not whether the tool will be used, but when and where they plan to unpack this “toolbox” in your neighborhood.

Critical dates: Nov. 17 th and Dec. 4th

November 17th is a Metro Council Planning and Zoning Committee Meeting: 4:30 to 5:15, Metro Historic Courthouse. The Council at the second hearing meetings suggested that amendments to the active bills on track for amendment review and their third hearing will be discussed. Members of the Planning and Zoning Committee are: Rollin Horton (Chair), Deonté Harell (Vice Chair), Burkley Allen, Emily Benedict, Clay CApp, Mike Cortese, Jennifer Gamble, Jacob Kupin, Sean Parker, John Rutherford, Sandra Sepulveda, and Terry Vo.

December 4th is the Metro Council Meeting for the third and final vote on the four proposed zoning related bills: 6:30 pm, Metro Historic Courthouse

This is your post-November 4th Council Meeting Update on the radical zoning changes being pushed by Mayor O'Connell, the Planning Commission, and a determined group of Metro Council members.

The immediate threat: Bill BL2025-1005

The core issue up for a final vote on December 4th is the Bill BL2025-1005, a code text charge.

If this Bill passes, developers will be allowed the opportunity to apply to rezone in ALL Nashville Neighborhoods for Plex Houses, Townhouse Courts and other multi-family options next door to you - up to 6 units, 3 stories high, 10' from your side property line.

The "trust us" approach and spot zoning risks

Many Nashville Metro Council Members and the Planning Department have taken the position that they will "not allow this where it is not wanted."

This promise is rather hollow, especially after watching the District 20 (The Nations) fiasco, in which the community's voice was disregarded; the same effort occurred with District 16 council support. Who among us hasn't felt unheard when the administration refuses to listen, and when many Council Members seldom host district meetings, and today, if they do, the Planning Department serves as their shield?

In recent community meetings, the Planning Department agreed that there is nothing that keeps a developer from making an application in any neighborhood - or even in Historic Overlays. Many Council Members are asking us to feel assured, they have our backs. Yet there is no written policy that prevents zone RN or RL from moving forward in the neighborhoods NashvilleNext has identified for conservation or preservation.

This creates spot zoning opportunities. The risk is a council member acting as a weak link, a very weak link when they invoke "Councilmanic Courtesy," in the face of significant community opposition. Councilmanic courtesy, the "custom" of our elected officials to support their colleagues' localized decisions, regardless of neighborhood opposition.

Today, density has become an ideology promoting an unsupported end goal. We are being forced to accept conditions that could price you out of your neighborhood, even worse encouraging development activities that inflate property values, the evidence, your recent property tax invoice - all to meet what appears to be a fake population goal. Nashville is already 50,000 people behind the fake goal if you deep-dive into the math, not to mention a two-decade record-high housing inventory, more people moving out than moving in (save for international migration), and a job growth rate of less than 1%. Yet our Mayor is whipping the Council into adopting "tools" without "policies" to guide their use.

The core threats: What the BL2025-1005, -1006, -1007, and -1008 bills will do

The administration is pushing a group of ordinances (including BL2025-1005 and BL2025-1007). In sum, these proposals will:

Eliminate community input after initial approval for new denser zoning (RN/RL).
Encourage developers to rezone single-family properties to allow multiple units on each lot.
Permit Detached Accessory Dwelling Units (DADUs) to be built by right anywhere in Davidson County.
Increase density in all neighborhoods, inevitably straining infrastructure, increasing traffic, and causing street overcrowding.
Threaten historic districts, which are not protected from these new zoning options with no restrictions to keep a RN or RL rezonong application from being filed.
Do nothing to guarantee any truly affordable housing will be built. Like infrastructure, the H&I Study provides no true study analysis to support the affordability claim.

Podcast: Density boom or neighborhood doom?

For a deeper understanding of the forces driving these changes, the data behind the opposition, and the potential impact on Nashville, listen to the recent discussion on "You're So Right," with Lonnine Spivak. Watch the podcast here.

Topics Covered Include:

Community Engagement Challenges
The Push for Density and Growth Projections
The Influence of Institutional Investment
Infrastructure and Community Impact
Neighborhood Responses and Political Actions
The necessity of Citizen Involvement

The deep dive: breaking down the impact

1. The End of Public Input. Bill BL2025-1005 introduces the "RN" and "RL" framework. Pay attention, because this tool is designed to sneak up on you. Once the RN or RL zoning tool is applied to a property, there will be no more public hearings for future development on that site. None. As long as the next project fits one of the many permitted uses, it's approved administratively ("by right"), with zero neighborhood feedback required.

2. The Investor Takeover. The new zoning classifications are presented as "flexible," but in real estate, properties evolve toward their most profitable use. The growing role of corporate and institutional buyers accelerates this shift. Once this new zoning type is granted, good luck buying that site for a single-family home. The Monopoly Man will outbid you, cash in hand, and build the option that produces the most profit: multifamily. (Do not be fooled, you may no longer be bidding against individuals.)

3. The "Granny Pod" Bait-and-Switch (BL2025-1007). The DADU bill sounds friendly, but the latest allowable size is now larger than many starter homes. This isn't sized for Granny; it's sized for maximum investor return. This facilitates the subdivision of existing lots and brews up a new generation of hybrid tall skinnies or "fat stumpies."

4. Density Without Infrastructure. Don't let the name "Housing and Infrastructure Study" fool you. The "study" is offered as a fix for everything, just without the infrastructure. The cure for a failing, infrastructure-deficient Nashville, apparently, is to intensify development.

5. The Affordability Myth. The plan relies on “filtering” - the theory that building new, expensive housing will eventually make older housing affordable. The clearest indicator that filtering isn't working? Gentrification. You cannot fix an affordability crisis for families below 60% of AMI using policies built for those earning over 100% of AMI.

The false premise

This entire upzoning "emergency" is built on a foundation of sand.

The Phantom Boom: The policy is grounded in a population forecast (175,000 new residents by 2034) that is vastly inflated. Meanwhile, job growth has stalled, and housing vacancies are at a 20-year high.
The Wall Street Takeover: This isn't a housing plan; it's a stimulus package for the Wall Street speculators who created the crisis by buying up starter homes.
The potential is not gentle: Options emerge through the use of RN and RL that provide the potential to become a catalyst for high densities in all neighborhoods.

The "Design Site" multiplier: A concerning example

A provision buried in the companion amendments for the new RN and RL districts, known as the "Design Site" option, could have a staggering impact on density. This mechanism allows a developer, after winning a single rezoning vote for one parcel, to hypothetically divide that parcel into multiple smaller "lots". Each of these new "design sites" can then be developed independently up to the maximum allowed for that new zone, a process that can be administratively approved without further public hearings.

Let's look at a concerning example: a single 20,000 square-foot lot, typical of an existing RS20 zone. If that one lot is rezoned by the Council to RN.1, the "Design Site" rule can be applied. The minimum lot size for an RN.1 zone is 6,000 square feet. This means the developer can divide their 20,000 sq. ft. lot into three (3) separate 6,000+ sq. ft. "design sites".

The RN.1 district allows the "Plex House" building type, which can contain up to six (6) units. By applying this 6-unit building type to each of the three "design sites", the math is alarming: three "design sites" multiplied by six units each. Based on the text, it appears to be possible to turn one 20,000 square foot single-family lot into an 18-unit development. And to address the common confusion about height, because this is the RN.1 (Suburban) zone, each of these new 6-unit buildings would be limited to 2.5 stories. (Updated 11.16.25, 03:30 pm)

This is a mathematical review without building a site plan. Should we receive information that demonstrates this is overcapacity, we will be happy to update this example. Mathematically, this example is achievable.

The Sample Calculation:

Let's use a standard 20,000 sq. ft. lot (like an RS20) that gets rezoned to RN.1:

Original Lot: 20,000 sq. ft.
"Design Site" Rule: The "Design Site" rule allows a developer to hypothetically divide this lot. The minimum lot size for RN.1 is 6,000 sq. ft..
Number of "Design Sites": (20,000 sq. ft. / 6,000 sq. ft.) = 3.33. This means they can create three (3) "design sites" on that one lot.
Building Type: Now, instead of the 12-unit "House Court" you mentioned, the developer can use the "Plex House" type, which is also allowed in RN.1. A "Plex House" allows up to 6 units.
The Total: They can build one 6-unit Plex House on each of the three "design sites."

The final math is: 3 "design sites" x 6 units = 18 units.

In this example, a developer could use this other provision to get 18 units on the exact same lot. This "Design Site" rule is a new complexity to Nashville's "playbook."

Land Use Table - Substute 17.12.110.A Residential Neighborhood:

There will be more to follow on this topic.

A call to action: protect your neighborhood

These proposals already passed their second hearing on November 4th, and no further public hearings will be held. All influence must go directly to the Mayor and the Council Members before December 2nd, 2025, prior to the meeting on the 4th.

Take four actions today!

We urge you to express your concerns about proposed rezoning in Nashville by speaking with your City Council Member, and emailing all Council Members, the Metro Planning Commission and the Mayor. Include your full name and address in the emails, and use Rezoning Case Numbers, BL2025-1005 and BL2025-1007. Be specific about your concerns and point out what items in the proposed rezoning you are opposed to, and what you agree with.

Email the Mayor: mayor@nashville.gov
Email the Full Council: councilmembers@nashville.gov
Email YOUR Council Member: Find your Council Member here: www.nashville.gov/departments/council/districts
Email this article and call your friends who have no idea this is going on. If their Council Member tells them there is nothing to see here, read the above. The camel wishes to put his nose under their tent.

Proponents of these bills and others without real estate investment experience will tell you that the above is misinformation. Read and decide for yourself. Today's definition of misinformation is when facts do not support the provided political narrative.