Nashville council to vote on expanding downtown business district
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo illustration: Allie Carl/Axios. Photo: Raymond Boyd/Getty Images
Metro Council will vote Tuesday on a plan to expand the boundaries of the downtown central business improvement district to include areas like the Capitol View neighborhood.
- The plan would also combine the Gulch and downtown central business improvement districts.
Why it matters: If approved, property owners in the district would be charged extra sales and property taxes in exchange for more services including added cleaning, street work, landscaping, marketing and safety programs.
Between the lines: Backers credit the CBID with helping improve downtown. The additional services are administered by the Downtown Partnership, a nonprofit that backs the proposed expansion
- The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Convention and Visitors Corp., downtown merchants and homeless nonprofits also back the plan.
- The Gulch has developed extensively in the last 15 years with new businesses and hotels, effectively making it an extension of downtown.
State of play: The proposal seems likely to pass.
Yes, but: The proposal has received some pushback from homeless advocates who expressed concerns about extra policing targeting homeless people.
What we're watching: Council will also consider changes to building codes. Most notably, a proposal would adopt safety and design standards for single stairway exits for buildings up to six stories.
- This is a proposal backed by housing advocates, because the regulation would make it easier for developers to build multi-family housing.
Two zoning proposals figure to receive substantial debate: Metro Councilmember Joy Kimbrough proposes to rezone property on Ashland City Highway to be used for parking and refueling of larger construction trucks.
- Councilmember David Benton proposed rezoning for a property on Franklin Limestone Road for industrial use.