Hendersonville officials are considering a temporary moratorium on new apartment construction to give the city time to address infrastructure needs amid ongoing growth pressures.
The proposed nine-month pause on apartment development passed its first reading Tuesday at the city council meeting. If approved in a second reading later this month, the moratorium would take effect.
Mayor Jamie Clary said the city receives inquiries about apartment developments almost weekly.
"A question was asked to our planning director 'how often do you get an inquiry about apartments?' And he said 'just about weekly," Clary said.
The mayor emphasized that the proposal focuses on infrastructure rather than halting growth entirely.
"This really isn't an ordinance about growth as much as it is about infrastructure is that we've been behind for some time," Clary said.
During the proposed moratorium, city officials plan to synchronize traffic lights on Main Street, make progress on their 10-year road plan, and complete a study that could introduce impact fees to charge developers for the strain new construction places on city resources.
"The impact that the new residents are gonna have on the community, and many, many, many communities around Nashville have those—we don't,” Clary said.
The temporary ban would not affect all construction. Single-family homes on properties less than one acre, as well as townhouses and condominiums, would still be permitted.
"We'll still entertain individual homes on property that's less than one acre as well as townhouses and condos," Clary said.
Some longtime residents welcome the pause, noting how development has changed the community's character.
"There was a lot of more like open land which I kind of wish we would have kept," said a resident. "I feel like it is getting a little too much."
Hendersonville's proposal follows a similar move by neighboring Goodlettsville, which implemented a temporary one-year ban on apartment construction in February to focus on attracting more businesses and jobs to the area.
Do you live in Hendersonville? How has the city's growth affected your daily life? Share your experiences with our reporter at kim.rafferty@NewsChannel5.com and help us understand the real impact of development in your community.
This story was reported by Kim Rafferty and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Kim and our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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