Text of Planning Staff's Approval of May Town Center Proposal with Conditions

Editor's Note: Planning staff has approved the May Town Center plan and spent 48 pages explaining their decision to try to get Planning Commission approval. They have put their rationalizations on line and you can find the summary of their position with conditions they place on developers at the end of the document. I am posting their conclusions as written to start getting your impressions and feedback.

||||| Staff has evaluated May Town Center’s substantial economic impact, its aggressive land conservation plan, and its commitment to constructing public facilities to manage off-site traffic impacts. While recognizing the work currently underway to update the West Nashville Community Plan, should the associated plan amendment be approved the SP will be consistent with all currently adopted community plan policies. Therefore staff recommends approval. Because of the project’s scope and extended build-out schedule, other changes will continue to take place in and around the area affected by this development. Subsequent community plan updates will reflect those changes as well as updated data on the progress and impacts of May Town Center. Staff has concluded that localized impacts can be successfully managed and that the projected benefits of the project to the greater Nashville community make the project appropriate for approval.
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CONDITIONS:

1. The applicant shall submit a corrected copy of the SP plan to include the following:
   a. A redesigned Park Residential District that promotes more consistency in building height and street relationship and a neighborhood design consistent with other District in May Town Center.
   b. A revised street-layout in the Regulatory Plan and all other plans within the SP that includes the street layout to address design issues within the Town Center component and concerns with the disbursement of traffic from the Cockrill Bend bridge.
   c. A multi-use path added as a permitted use in the Buffers in the Conservation Easement Plan.
   d. That government agencies can administer the funds and hold the easements for the buffers along Old Hickory Boulevard outside of May Town Center and a multi-use path added as permitted use in the buffer.
   e. A goal of 20 percent of workforce housing in the Sustainability section of the SP plan.
   f. A description the maximum levels of development for each of the five phases as shown in the staff report.
   g. Minimum levels of development for each of the five phases as shown in the staff report.
   h. A statement acknowledging that a traffic monitoring plan, will be developed by the developer acceptable to Public Works, Planning, MPO, Metro Transit Authority (MTA), and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) in the Development Caps section of the SP plan and include that the monitoring period will be annually, with a report due July 1 of each year beginning with the opening of the recommended bridges to full project build out (90% of full development entitlements).
   i. A statement acknowledging the conditions of MTA on the Transit Plan and that a transit report will be prepared annually and submitted at the same time as other monitoring reports.
   j. The preliminary SP be accompanied by an application for inclusion into the Urban Services District.
2. The developer of May Town Center provide the Metropolitan Planning Commission funding, in an amount not to exceed $300,000, for developing and finalizing detailed corridor design plans and implementation recommendations in the following five (5) areas prior to approval of Phase II of the project and that any approval for Phase II be conditioned upon the findings of these plans and recommendations to the degree that the impacts can be credited to the approval of this application.
   a. Cockrill Bend Corridor from the Cumberland River along Cockrill Bend Blvd, Centennial Blvd and John Merritt Blvd to Tennessee State University.
   b. Bordeaux Corridor from Briley Parkway along Ashland City Highway, Clarksville Highway to Rosa L. Parks Blvd.
   c. The Charlotte Pike/Richland Park Corridor from the railroad east of 42nd Ave to a point west of White Bridge Road with specific consideration of the appropriateness of implementing a storefront and development easement or transfer of development rights program to preserve the historic character of the neighborhood center in light of specific increased development pressures attributable to May Town Center.
   d. The White Bridge Road Corridor from I-40 south to Nashville State Technical Institute.
   e. The Old Hickory Blvd Corridor from the Cumberland River south to a point south of I-40 should the third full-access bridge be required with specific evaluation of how to minimize environmental impacts immediately south of the Cumberland River.
3. A plan for protecting significant archaeological resources finds shall be presented with the initial final site plan and the applicant shall work with the Metro Historical Commission, the State Historic Preservation Officer, and the State Archaeologist in preparing the protection plan.
4. Transfer or a plan for irrevocable transfer of the easements for tax purposes shall accompany the first final site plan approval after the permit for the initial bridges has been received.
5. Two bridges shall be provided prior to the initial development of May Town Center.
6. Absent a direct finding that it is unnecessary to achieve the stated objectives, a third full-access bridge shall be provided as the development of May Town Center progresses.
7. The responsibility for ensuring that all three potential bridges are constructed falls exclusively to the developer(s) of May Town Center and that the Metropolitan Government will not assume any financial or other obligations for the construction of the bridges or associated infrastructure improvements.
8. No building permits for construction of any new structures shall be issued when the projected level-of-service reaches a LOS of mid-level E.
9. Following approval for development within Phase II as outlined in the phasing section of this report, no further site plans or building permits authorizing any new structure in Phases III, IV, and V shall be issued or approved until the Metropolitan Planning Commission evaluates and determines the need for construction and the design of the third bridge as conditioned herein.
10. The requirements of the Public Works Department shall be met.
11. The applicant shall work with the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority to mitigate any undesirable impacts on aviation.
12. The water and sewer capacity required by the Water Services Department shall be kept current.
13. The uses for this SP are limited to the uses as described in the plan.
14. For any development standards, regulations and requirements not specifically shown on the SP plan and/or included as a condition of Commission or Council approval, the property shall be subject to the standards, regulations and requirements of the MUI zoning district as of the date of the applicable request or application.
15. A corrected copy of the preliminary SP plan incorporating the conditions of approval by the Planning Commission and Council shall be provided to the Planning Department prior to the filing of any additional development applications for this property, and in any event no later than 120 days after the effective date of the enacting ordinance. If a corrected copy of the SP plan incorporating the conditions therein is not provided to the Planning Department within 120 days of the effective date of the enacting ordinance, then the corrected copy of the SP plan shall be presented to the Metro Council as an amendment to this SP ordinance prior to approval of any grading, clearing, grubbing, final site plan, or any other development application for the property.
16. Minor modifications to the preliminary SP plan may be approved by the Planning Commission or its designee based upon final architectural, engineering or site design and actual site conditions. All modifications shall be consistent with the principles and further the objectives of the approved plan. Modifications shall not be permitted, except through an ordinance approved by Metro Council that increase the permitted density or floor area, add uses not otherwise permitted, eliminate specific conditions or requirements contained in the plan as adopted through this enacting ordinance, or add vehicular access points not currently present or approved.
17. The requirements of the Metro Fire Marshal’s Office for emergency vehicle access and adequate water supply for fire protection must be met prior to the issuance of any building permits. |||||