The Muse is Vindicated

Other good dates to avoid public scrutiny include those near the 4th of July ....

- - Developers' Playbook, Occasional Muse

Next week's Metro Council agenda is out, and almost as if Nashville's legislative body took its cue straight from the developer's playbook, the meeting is dominated by public hearings on 20 rezoning and planning requests. July 1 does not seem very convenient for the public to attend hearings designated for them; in fact, it seems most convenient for Council Members and developers because of the broader inconvenience.

Also on that agenda is perhaps this Council's most significant black mark, the do-over bill to include controversial rehabilitation services within agricultural zoning, which was prompted by investigations by the Bush Justice Department. But it was also a black mark against the Purcell Administration and Karl Dean's Legal Department, since the original bill passed by the Council in 2007 should have been reviewed by Metro Legal in 2006, and could have been vetoed instead of being returned unsigned.

All in all, it looks like a pre-holiday, conflict-avoidance slate of public hearings.