Metro Council preview: Historic zoning plan up for key vote
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
A plan to shift historic zoning responsibilities to the Planning Department is up for a critical vote at Tuesday night's Metro Council meeting.
Driving the news: The Metro Historic Zoning Commission and its staff have handled the enforcement of overlays, which protect historic neighborhoods from redevelopment.
- Supporters say the plan would lead to a more commonsense approach to enforcing regulations, which have created some disagreements between the city and homeowners.
The other side: Councilmember Emily Benedict's plan has received pushback from some neighborhood groups where there are overlays. Those groups say the current system has worked well to protect their residential areas.
- The Whitland Area Neighborhood Association sent a letter to council members explaining its opposition to the plan last month.
- "Having the commissions independent of (Metro Planning) helps prevent neighborhoods with historic overlays such as Whitland from having their character permanently altered with architectural styles that are inconsistent with the existing properties," the neighborhood group said in its letter.
The latest: In a letter to Historic Zoning Commission members last week, Benedict reiterated that her proposal doesn't change any existing regulations.
- Her updated version of the bill would create a new historic zoning administrator position.
- Benedict says time is of the essence because state lawmakers are considering a proposal, backed by honky-tonk owners, that would effectively force local governments to move historic zoning functions under planning departments. She says Metro should act before that happens.
- Her bill is on second reading Tuesday out of three required votes.
Zoom out: Also on Tuesday's agenda is a plan to create a new policy for how police could use surveillance video footage captured from private businesses.
- Police surveillance has been a hot-button issue in the Metro Council, and this legislation is considered an important litmus test.