Statement from Ellen Dement Hurd, Historic Nashville Inc. President
Last Tuesday night, the Metro Council passed an amended BL2025-742 on second reading. This bill would move the staff of the Metro Historic Zoning Commission from the Metro Historical Commission department to the Planning Department. The current version of the bill comes after extended discussions between myself and board members with council members, along with Planning Director Lucy Kempf, MHC Director Tim Walker, and MHC and MHZC commissioners. HNI has fully expressed its concerns about the original version of the bill in a letter to all Metro Council members and we feel our feedback has been heard. The existing language in the bill is very different from the initial version.
We believe there are several benefits to the current bill that strengthen the protections for historic preservation in Nashville:
- The staff of the Historic Zoning Commission will transition to the Planning Department with their civil service protections intact.
- The position of Historic Zoning Administrator will be codified into law.
- The Metro Historical Commission and the Metro Historic Zoning Commission will continue to function within Metro Government.
- No existing historic or conservation overlays will be changed.
- The Metro Historical Commission will continue as a separate department dedicated to preservation and educational programing.
Additionally, in our conversations with Director Kempf, we feel comfortable that historic preservation function of Metro Government will remain an important priority and historic zoning staff expertise will be focused on work related to historic zoning. Director Kempf also agrees with HNI that the work of community education related to issues of historic preservation is an important part the work done by both the Historic Zoning Commission and the staff.
There will be a public hearing on the bill at the Metro Council meeting on March 18 at 6:30 PM at the Municipal Courthouse.
I’d like to thank board members Jon Wagenman and Dr. Marquita Reed-Wright for their help in reviewing bill language and reaching out to Metro Council members. We remain hopeful the end result of this discussion will be a positive result for the historic preservation movement in Nashville.
News coverage of this issue:
- “Oversight of Nashville’s historic buildings could change as officials mull local and state measures,” WPLN, March 6
- “With state bills looming, Nashville Council moves forward with historic zoning change,” The Tennessean, March 5
- “Metro Council preview: Historic zoning plan up for key vote,” Axios Nashville, March 4
- “Debate over Nashville’s historic zoning heats up amid proposed changes,” WZTV, February 25
