NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Following hours of debate on how the city should grow over the next 25 years, the Metro Nashville Planning Commission unanimously approved the Nashville Next plan Monday afternoon.
It's the conclusion of a project that has spanned hundreds of meetings and involved thousands of ideas from those who live in Nashville.
The city’s planning commission met at 1 p.m. Monday to debate 43 suggested amendments to the Nashville Next plan. The meeting was expected to go into the evening but the plan was approved just after 5 p.m.
The only issued not approved Monday involved controversy over the Whites Creek area and how it should develop. Options include keeping their zoning rural or changing to allowing more development. Several people argued for and against that at a public hearing last week.
At one point during the meeting Monday the planning department proposed a compromise of sorts which would let some areas allow tightly controlled development, while keeping other areas more rural.
Some commissioners spoke out against that plan. They argued that keeping Whites Creek a rural area is more important.
“If we lose it we can’t recreate it, and it’s up to the nine of us to protect that vision and think about how we want to see things evolve for the benefit of the whole county,” said Metro Planning Commissioner Andree Lequire.
In the end the commission decided to set the Whites Creek issue aside and take it up at a meeting in August.
The Planning Department estimates the population across the region will expand by a million people by the year 2040.
TO SEE THE PLAN:
Click here to view the updated community plans, including the plan for your neighborhood.
Click here to view the comprehensive plan, by volume.
