No rest for the weary…

As you may know, a significant victory was achieved last Thursday when the Metro Planning Commission finally voted NOT to approve a zoning change for the Bell’s Bend area at a hearing that began at 4pm and went until 11pm (!!).
As with previous hearings, this one was very well attended by supporters on both sides of the debate: proponents of the massive “May Town” development proposal, and those of us who support instead the “Third Vision”, and wish to preserve the Bell’s Bend area as the rural, agricultural and sporting treasure that it is (although I’m quite happy to say we outnumbered May Town supporters by a margin of at least 3 to 1).
One after another, City Council members and individuals from Bell’s Bend / Scottsboro and all around Nashville stood before the Commission and offered impassioned and thoughtful arguments for why they wanted to preserve this area, concerns about the needs for multiple bridges and extensive infrastructure, major traffic congestion issues, serious economic concerns, the disregarding of community planning efforts, the John C. Tune airport and potential flight interferences / safety issues, the absence of solidly based evidence or examples to support the projected success of this proposal by the May family and developer Tony Giarratana, and so on.
We can breathe a sigh of satisfaction for the moment. Because the Planning Commission voted against Maytown, a full 2/3 of City Council would need to approve it in order for it to go forward, so things look optimistic. But it ain’t over ‘til it’s over! The hearing before the City Council will be held on July 7th at 6pm. Meetings are open to the public and are held in the Metro Courthouse, One Public Square.