Street View is a monthly column in which we take a close look at development-related issues affecting different neighborhoods throughout the city.
On Oct. 18, the Metro Historic Zoning Commission held its monthly meeting to discuss a number of permit applications and violations. Among the violations was a green garage at 3806 Central Ave. in the Richland-West End neighborhood belonging to Ben and Amy Rosenblum.
The Rosenblums’ garage looks like many other garages on their street: It’s a similar color to a garage at 3804 Central Ave., and has a similar design. But it’s also in a conservation overlay district, which means there are strict rules about property height. Because the Rosenblums’ garage’s eaves were 19 inches taller than the ones in plans approved by the Metro Historic Zoning Commission, the body issued a violation notice. At the hearing, Metro told the Rosenblums that they could either change the height of the structure — a representative for the Rosenblums estimated this would cost about $100,000 — or remain in violation. According to the MHZC website, the next step would be appearing in environmental court or presenting their case to the MHZC with new information.
The Rosenblums were out of the country at the time of their hearing; Ben’s dad, Martin Rosenblum, flew in from Pennsylvania to represent the family.
Martin was in a unique position to speak to the commission: He has worked as a restoration architect for more than 50 years and specializes in historic preservation. He tells the Scene his interaction with the MHZC left him disillusioned about his work. “I called my colleagues and I said, ‘I don’t think I can do this anymore,’” Martin says. “That is how distressed I felt looking from the other side.”
“I tried to point out what I felt were not solid interpretations as someone who has done this my whole life and presented to numerous historical commissions … and they just didn’t agree.”
Martin says his son’s oversize garage was an error the family didn’t catch in time. This type of error is a fairly typical occurrence in historic overlay districts. Robin Zeigler, the historic zoning administrator for the MHZC, explains that many zoning violations come from lack of knowledge about the process.
“The applicant doesn’t always pass on the preservation permit to the contractor, which can result in unintended violations,” says Zeigler. “Contractors don’t always know to ask for the preservation permit from their client or to seek it online.” She says the MHZC has been holding contractor education courses online to combat accidental violations.
At the commission meeting, Martin Rosenblum asked the MHZC for an exemption to keep the garage as is. During the public comment period, a Richland-West End Neighborhood Association representative urged the commission to issue the violation. They referenced a similar case at 3709 Central Ave., where the commission voted to have homeowners rebuild a similarly oversize garage.
“It is disappointing and frustrating that homeowners are building structures in violation to the guidelines,” reads the neighborhood association’s statement. “We as residents recognize the financial impact of having to correct violations. However, if the historic guidelines are to have any merit, the guidelines are to be adhered to.”
After hearing statements from both sides, the commission voted to issue the violation. The Rosenblums would have to rebuild the too-tall second floor and dormer, or appeal.
Nashville has eight historic preservation overlays and 27 less-restrictive neighborhood conservation zoning overlays. In both types of zoning, residents must apply for permits from the Historic Zoning Commission before building, modifying or demolishing any property. There are also guidelines about building heights, materials, windows, blinds and more. Nashville established its first Zoning Commission in 1974; that commission became the MHZC in 1977, and Edgefield became the city’s first historic overlay in 1978. Other neighborhoods soon followed throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
The MHZC’s handbook lists various benefits of zoning, like giving neighborhoods more stable property values, protecting urban housing stock and conserving building materials. And sometimes, of course, overlays can prevent the creep of imposing development. But some housing advocates point out that overlays have negative consequences beyond the accidental violations. One local developer, who requested anonymity, questioned whether the supposed benefits of overlays truly help the Nashville community. “What are the trade-offs and what are the costs that we are paying as a city to have nice little Craftsman neighborhoods?” he asks. “These overlays are severely restricting the ability to produce housing in the most desirable neighborhoods — the neighborhoods that we really need to produce housing in.”
Historic zoning regulations have also in some cases prevented sustainable development. In April, Belmont-Hillsboro overlay regulations prevented a Nashville-based physics professor from completing plans for a highly energy-efficient “Passivhaus” because the energy-saving plans required external Venetian blinds. While the blinds would have significantly minimized the house’s environmental impact, the MHZC did not approve their construction because of overlay rules.
Martin Rosenblum also questions how sustainable conservation zoning can really be. “It’s not green if you ask someone to tear off a roof that was just built,” he says.
The Scene’s unnamed source also points out that the MHZC has sole authority over the permitting process — a lot of power. “MHZC has a total fiefdom over these historic districts,” he says. “There needs to be some sort of check and balance, some sort of democratic accountability for this organization, to try to align the guidelines of these historic districts with all of our other planning policy, which they’re often in conflict with.”
Zeigler tells the Scene that applicants can appeal commission decisions in Chancery Court or Circuit Court in Davidson County. The commission can also work with homeowners to “brainstorm alternatives to full ‘deconstruction’ of a violation,” Zeigler says.
Historic zoning has recently been a factor in nationwide discussions about equitable housing and sustainable construction. Some neighborhood groups leverage its protections to restrict development, while others have reinterpreted codes to accommodate new uses.
In Nashville, there’s also a bipartisan movement to update Nashville’s zoning code, as Stephen Elliott has reported via Scene sister publication the Nashville Post. Grievances with the city’s 25-year-old zoning code echo issues over historic overlay zoning: Outdated zoning can prevent developers from creating much-needed affordable housing, and it can also prevent neighborhoods from adapting to demographic changes.
But updating codes can be a lengthy and complex process. In the meantime, the Rosenblums are working with the MHZC and the Richland-West End Neighborhood Association to reach some sort of compromise about their slightly oversize garage — one that hopefully won’t cost them $100,000.
“We were shocked, we were taken aback, and we are trying to work it out,” says Martin Rosenblum. “This is not exactly the welcoming committee that one would want to build a sense of community.”
