NASHVILLE, TN – In an opinion issued last week, the Tennessee Court of Appeals has upheld the ruling of the Davidson County Chancellor Anne Martin, which overturned a subdivision approval and affirmed the role of Nashville’s community-based general plan in the development process. In a unanimous decision of the appellate panel, the Court acknowledged the authority of planning commissions to consider whether proposed subdivisions comply with local land-use policies, called “general plans.” Nashville’s general plan, known also as “Nashville Next,” includes 14 Community Character Manuals (CCMs) developed by the Metro Planning Department after extensive public and community input.
The lawsuit, brought by the Hudson family, challenged the initial approval by the Planning Commission of a cluster lot subdivision for tract housing surrounding their 19th-century family farm on Brick Church Lane. The area was historically a part of the Love family farm, where the builders of the original “brick church” from which both Brick Church Lane and Brick Church Pike take their name had lived. Whites Creek residents had participated actively in formulating their community plan to ensure the inclusion of protections for the rural and historic character of the area. Yet, the Planning Commission approved a typical suburban development proposed for construction by Pulte Homes without regard to the general plan. Now, both the trial and appellate courts have ruled in favor of the neighbors and affirmed the role of community plans.
Jason Holleman, who represents the Hudson family, said, “Community-developed plans like these are not just opinion polls. They are carefully considered policy statements about the special qualities of individual neighborhoods that the Planning Commission should protect when considering new development. This decision strengthens the voices of the neighbors who will be most impacted by this development and protects the rich history and character of Davidson County.”
The appellate court affirmed the Davidson County Chancery Court ruling, in which the Planning Commission approval of 200 small cluster lots subdivision on a rural lane had been overturned. In that original approval, the Planning Commission failed to consider the neighborhood-informed general plan. Subdivision proposals like these, the Court affirmed, can and should be weighed and rejected based upon their lack of compliance with the appropriate land-use policies or general plan.
“We know that development will occur around our farm,” said Elise Hudson, one of the plaintiffs in the case, “but next time we face a proposal, we are pleased that it will have to be consistent with the Nashville Next policy’s intent to preserve the character of Whites Creek.”