Metro sued over controversial sidewalk ordinance
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Metro was hit with a class-action lawsuit Wednesday from plaintiffs seeking to be repaid fees collected under a sidewalk ordinance that was struck down by a federal court.
Catch up quick: The ordinance, championed by then-Councilmember Angie Henderson, required certain developers to either build new sidewalks or pay fees into a fund. With the backing of the government watchdog group the Beacon Center, different plaintiffs challenged the law in court.
- Metro successfully defended the ordinance initially, but the plaintiffs appealed to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals and won earlier this year.
- That opened the door for this new class-action lawsuit for those who paid into the fund to get their money back.
- Henderson defeated incumbent Jim Shulman in last month's general election to become Metro's new vice mayor.
Why it matters: Metro has been scuffling in its efforts to force developers to pay for more infrastructure costs.
- A new state law blocks Metro from implementing development impact fees, which function similarly to the sidewalk ordinance and allow governments to offset infrastructure costs associated with new developments.
- Henderson's goal was to address Metro's uphill battle to build more sidewalks while development booms across the county.
What's next: The city collected over $4 million in fees under the sidewalk ordinance, according to the Nashville Banner.
- The class-action suit is from two firms seeking to be repaid the thousands of dollars they combined to pay into the fund.
- Nashville attorney Dave Garrison is the lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the class-action suit and other property owners who paid fees may be eligible to join it.