Metro Planning Says "Don't Call Us" [According to District 17 Listserv]

This email from Metro Planning's Craig Ow[e]nsby was posted on the Council District 17 listserv:

You want to know - Is it a Condo, Townhouse or PUD? (Don't call us)

We're getting a LOT more calls, about four times as many as in the past, asking whether a development is a condo (development) or townhouse (development) and/or what its common or private elements may be.

We can't answer those questions any more. There are just too many calls to handle.

You can, though, get the necessary information by checking the property deed and any associated master deed at the Register of Deeds' office (website below), or through a real-estate attorney.

We will continue to verify zoning and PUD status on specific properties.

Questions or comments: Craig Owensby - Public Information Officer, Metro Planning 862-7192 craig.owen@nashville.gov

CLARIFICATION: Craig Owensby sent me the following e-mail:

that post about our phone calls was REALLY misleading. For the original version with no parenthetical comments added, go to our page at nashville.gov/mpc and click "development dispatch" on the lower left... nowhere does it say "don't call us." and it doesn't misspell my name two different ways, either.

Obama to Address Mayors in June

The presumptive Dem nominee will finally meet with the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Here's hoping he supports their plan.

A Couple of Valid Reasons Why Goo Goos Are Not Gah Gah About Those Wacky Developers

All of you pro-developer journalists and political communications types at the Metro Courthouse take note. Carol McCullough has an outstanding list of dirty tricks used by developers (and the politicians who love them) to supress citizen participation in the planning process. The whole list is worthy, but here are a couple of my favorites from Occasional Muse:

INCONVENIENT TIMING:

Schedule Legislation so that the Public Hearing falls near a Holiday

When dealing with a proposed development that you anticipate would face significant community opposition, it is important you get the timing right. Bring your proposals to the Council Member at a time that will allow you to ensure that the Public Hearing takes place at a time that it is inopportune.

One of the most popular Council Meeting dates for such an activity is the first one of the year that often falls one or two days after the new year holiday. Other good dates to avoid public scrutiny include those near the 4th of July, Thanksgiving and Christmas. If possible, create a sense of urgency that would make it seem that this timing is entirely accidental. A contract set to expire shortly after that date is one option.

CLAIM COMMUNITY SUPPORT:

Produce Petitions and “Community” Spokespeople

If facing zoning zealots that are circulating a petition, circulate your own among people who have an interest in seeing the development move forward. It does not need to be mentioned if the signers do not live anywhere near the proposed development site. It is best if you can find at least one proponent that lives nearby that can speak in favor and make the opposition look silly and backward.

Alternatively, if you have a Council Member that is favorable to your proposal, ask them to hold up a large stack of papers while on the Council floor and insist that they have a petition that shows support. There is currently no requirement that they have to enter such a document in the public record.

Only 24 more lobbying days until Independence Day. We'll watch to see how many public hearings are put off until the week before or week after the holiday. And check those petitions for outlyers.

Unencumbered Oil Profits: Nothing to See Here, Just Move Along

Oil companies are engaged in an orgy of money in which they claim to need their profits (from now $5 a gallon gas) for more exploration, yet their biggest expense increases went to buying back their own stocks. It's the height of circular self-investment. And the Republicans in Washington today not only terminated any chance of making them pay their fair share for everything from the Iraq War to the streets and roads that bolster their profits; they also killed Democratic initiatives that would have given Big Oil tax breaks to use their oil crisis windfall for alternative energy programs.

And yet, some would still bar anyone but the oil companies themselves from questioning the fairness of the obscene profits that they make without any proportional tax burden. And they would still raise red herrings in the naive faith that Big Oil needs no checks and balances to their supersized power and subsidized bank accounts.

Long Time Developers' Lobbyist Hoisted on a Pithfork

Lost in the weekend's maelstrom of reanimated English Only and of the Planning Commission controversy was PiTW reporter Matt Pulle's scoop on a Waller Lansden lawyer who is "the most prolific lobbyist at the courthouse." Pulle maintains that the lobbyist of choice for Nashville's premiere developers tried to manipulate the directon of a story on a possible conflict of interest between his lobby work and his service on the State Fair board. No surprise that developers are taking a keen interest in what becomes of the Fair Grounds. CM Mike Jameson defended the lobbyist, who then seemed to punish Jameson for his good deed.

I would criticize such actions, but courthouse moderates might call me "goo goo" if I do.

Proof that Not All Developers Deserve Scorn

Enclave commenter Jim responds to the news that Metro Planning has been critical of the Ardelia Park concept:

I generally do not comment on this blog. I do however want to encourage the developer(s) of 7th and Garfield to pause and reconsider their position. I found the residents feedback very helpful in finalizing plans for 5th and Garfield. Even though our development is on hold we have ready a plan that is both pleasing to the eye and one that could possibly earn recognition from the Metropolitan Historic Commission. Listening to planners can make a good plan great.

Developers who get it approach neighborhoods and planners for feedback and try to incorporate some of the ideas they hear. The ones who don't get it assume they have nothing to learn from the community and that they are doing everyone else a favor by doing it their way.

That's All NashPo's Got?

I was wondering if the NashPo blog was ever going to get to the fire that City Paper writer Richard Lawson has been taking (and long been deserving) for his minimizing stance on developers and for his jaded views of neighborhoods. I mean I understand that Lawson formerly wrote for NashPo and I get that that NashPo blogger ACK has been favorably disposed toward the NCP posse in the past and I can fully appreciate that both NashPo and NCP are all part of one big loyal family now.

But c'mon. After all of the newsworthy ruckus during the past couple of days and especially the debate between Lawson and Bruce Barry, the best coverage that AC Kleinheider can come up with is NCP Editor Clint Brewer's typical defense of his own writers against all foes, foreign and domestic? But thank goodness NashPo's got Glen Dean's standard red-baiting covered (you'll have to find ACK's Glen Dean post yourself; I don't care to waste the energy to look for it). Otherwise, it might be accused of actually covering local debates that have merit and carry some weight.

Tonight's Another Tuesday Night Metro Council Night

The "Cat Herd" meets tonight: head 'em up and move 'em out.

58 Military Bases Demanded for a Country the Size of California

Osama bin Laden used Poppy Bush's establishment of U.S. military bases in Saudi Arabia as a pretext to the 9/11 attacks on American soil. Now Dubya intends to establish almost 60 military bases in Iraq, and he is demanding immunity from prosecution for the Pentagon's civilian military contractors. Free get-out-of-jail cards for all DoD friends to do whatever rocks their socks. These conditions would run indefinitely, which dovetails nicely with John McCain's wish to stay in Iraq 100 years.

The Iraqi government considers the terms unacceptable. So should Americans. It's going to cost us financially, and it could lead to another terrorist attack on our soil.

Good News

From one of my G-town neighbors.

This Quote Deserved a Better Fate than Being Buried on a Homeschooler's Blog

Again, English Only is the subject. The commenter is John Lamb:

If you see this issue through the eyes of Metro departments, at stake is their power to individually determine whether additional languages will better allow them to implement their missions. Micromanaging those departments by putting an English mandate over the entire city will handicap Metro (and thus all of us, if Metro's goals are our goals) and not just our city's international residents. In an English Forced world, this predetermination of priorities would win the day without any weighing of the costs and benefits in each situation ....

Metro currently implements a variety of multi-lingual communication strategies on topics including legal rights, a child's first day of school, domestic violence, recycling, rape victim resources, financial counseling, Homework Hotline, recidivism-reducing DUI education, pet ownership tips, access to health care, and tornado siren instructions - and none of the agencies responsible for those communications have been quoted in any of the articles on the English Forced movement.

And in response to Kay Brooks' ideation that multi-linguality is a new arrival, Mr. Lamb refers to a place just around the corner:

Germantown in Nashville had German-language church services, schools, and newspapers for decades. At the Centennial Exposition for which Nashville's Centennial Park was created, Nashville's German newspapers were rightly lauded as one of the best methods of integrating new German immigrants, because through communications in their mother tongue they could learn about current events even while they were still uncomfortable in English.

It's nice to see some acoustic tiles put up in an echo chamber from time-to-time.

Took Him to School on the Question of Conflict of Interest

Bruce Barry highlights Richard Lawson's utter confusion of the concept of conflict of interest, effectively slicing and dicing the flaws in the latter's logic at PiTW. Heard of the "Bass-o-matic"? Let's just call Bruce's post the "Chatter-Class-o-matic". It is easy to give a wink and a nod to developers (and their government-based spouses) on conflict of interest when one fails to grasp and to apply the concept.

And what does Dr. Barry get for his trouble? An ad hominem against his profession as a professor. It is really tough to understand the merits of basic critical thinking about conflicts of personal interest when one is busy making excuses for the self-interested (just look at Mr. Lawson's continued defense of developers in the comment section of today's "Chatter Class") and taking flagrant aim at their critics.

Rex Needs to Learn a Little English, Too

The word "gentry" is generally associated with a ruling class. Compared to developers, their lawyers, and the truckloads of money that they donate to political campaigns (like Mayor Karl Dean's), neighborhood "forces" are quite meager resistance. Follow the donations and the lobbyists. They ain't coming from the neighborhoods. Rex needs to get a grip on the reality beyond the condescending terms that the true elites ("moderates" and their development clientele) use to poke fun at the modest influence of neighborhood groups. Get beyond just Janel.

Now I'm going out to mow my own lawn and pull some weeds on hands and knees. I wonder how many elite Court House moderates and developers do that?


UPDATE: Kay Brooks says that good government advocates are "nuts."

She also takes some shots at HGI President Stacy Mosley:

I understand they took a chance on that part of town but also ensured, as best they could, that their children would attend 'high-performing Hillsboro cluster' schools. Would they have taken that same chance if the Hillsboro Cluster hadn't been available? No one really believes they would have. Likely what they'll do is what the East Nashville GooGoos did, opt out of the neighborhood school and create an enhanced option or design school. These 'urban pioneers' shouldn't pat themselves on the back for their support of public schools when they've done that.

NashPo's blog took their own shots at Stacy wanting it "her way" this morning in Gentrification Is Not Like Burger King.

Enclave Already Gives the Context Behind the Letter

The City Paper picked up the story on the school re-zoning letter signed by the North End/Downtown association presidents. Here is some context you already had before NCP publication.

According to this morning's story, Historic Germantown, Inc. Prez Stacy Mosley says:

residents of downtown neighborhoods moved there, at a risk, with the “promise” that their children could attend high-performing Hillsboro cluster schools .... neighbors want their children to attend schools with “balanced” racial and socioeconomic mixes. It’s not good for anybody. It’s not good for the kids that are poor. It’s not good for the kids who are wealthy .... [Neighborhood schools are] not a good idea here.

Prez Mosley doesn't speak for this resident of a downtown neighborhood. I've already advocated refurbishing the Fehr School building and using it as a neighborhood school for what is still a desegregated and diverse North End. And I've advocated giving neighborhood schools like it more money than other schools. I'm opposed to the re-districting plan, but I'm also opposed to what appears to be paternalism advocated this morning.

Metro Planning Expresses Reservations about Salemtown Development

Last week in emails exchanged between the Metro Planning and the owner of the proposed Ardelia Park development at the corner of 7th Avenue, North and Garfield Street, a planning official expressed disappointment that the owner was "not willing to work" with planning officials on a re-design of Ardelia Park. The exchange indicated that the Planning Department could give the plan a "negative recommendation." The owner was also encouraged to consider stormwater problems in the area and the possible costs of connecting to a stormwater sewer, which might make the project cost-prohibitive.

Lawson's Formulaic Disdain for Neighborhoods in a Nutshell

There is a formula the keeps surfacing in the madness:

1. Distract with a pox-on-both-or-all-houses attitude toward the intractable nature of the tensions or conflict.
2. Depict developers (or investors) as having honest, though disorganized intentions.
3. Impugn the motives of neighborhood leaders; or at least insinuate their troglodytic character.

Whether the subject is the Kleinfelter controversy, proposed Bells Bend sprawl, or Metro subsidizing the Nashville Predators, Richard Lawson seems to have a standard ringer for shearing the various sides in a debate. And neighborhood leaders always seem to get the worst of it, as in today's insinuation that advocates only labor to piss off developers, as if development were not the issue.

Check Out BellsBend.org

The community of Bells Bend and friends who are trying to preserve its historic agricultural qualities have a website: bellsbend.org. Their mission:

To promote and protect the rural character of the Beaman Park to Bells Bend Corridor by establishing an outdoor recreational, agricultural and residential conservation district that serves as a county, state and regional planning model for open space preservation.

They have a list of events, which includes information about a June 17 community planning meeting, which will be the "final opportunity to offer feedback to Metro Planning staff" on their proposed community plan.

They also started a blog in May. In their introductory post, a blogger writes:

Please help us fend off the proposed development and help fund the Bells Bend neighborhood association’s plan to develop and implement a conservation corridor modeled in part on the Adirondacks. We want to develop recreational areas for all of Nashville to enjoy for generations to come. We want to encourage and promote locally produced agricultural products and foster young farmer mentoring programs to ensure Nashville’s food safety and food security as the average age of US farmers increases and young farmers are becoming scarcer.

They also have some great suggestions for helping them out and becoming more involved in conserving this rare natural resource.

Vista Germantown Construction Starts Late Summer

These apartments will sit between 5th and 6th and Madison and Jefferson. Here's Bristol Development's rendering.

HT: Urban Planet

This Is Where Mayor Dean's Budget Cuts Damage Neighborhoods Most

CM Emily Evans blogs the depressing news on the proposed cuts to Metro Planning, Libraries, and Parks. She mentions that Planning is popular with her constituents, and so I'm kind of wondering what they think of the flap over the possible discharge of neighborhood-friendly David Kleinfelter. CM Evans lets us know about cutbacks in library hours, including one of the libraries proximate to Salemtown: Looby (MetroCenter). Finally, since Parks will likely be getting a +11% cut to their budget (especially since no council members are acting like they are going to push for changes at third reading), I would like to know how that will affect restoration of the Morgan Park playground and greenway spur.

Southern Cities Won It for Obama

According to the Daily Yonder via Facing South, the South was the only region Obama won in the Democratic primaries, and cities put him in the winners circle:

Within the South, Obama only won the cities, but that vote was large enough to wipe out Clinton's advantages across the rest of the country. Sen. Obama won southern urban areas with more than 60 percent of the vote, running up a 1.44 million vote margin. Most of Obama's advantage came from just 27 urban counties in the South.