On First Reading: Planned Parenthood Appropriation and a Contentious RiverChase Deferral

@startleseasily is a fervent observer of the Metro government's comings and goings. In this column, "On First Reading," she'll recap the bimonthly Metro Council meetings and provide her analysis. You can find her in the pew in the corner by the mic, ready to give public comment on whichever items stir her passions. Follow her on Twitter here.

At a family-friendly meeting on Tuesday night, the Metro Council elected a new president pro tempore, continued their quest to protect reproductive rights and tested the limits of councilmanic courtesy. 

A Feel-Good Family Night

It was as if the council knew I needed a light, chill night on Tuesday. The meeting started out with some intensely positive vibes. CM Jennifer Gamble’s adorable parents gaveled the meeting to order. And then CM Russ Pulley’s son gave an invocation so poignant that I think I understand why we do the whole invocation thing now. 

The Reign of the Tall Guy Caucus Comes to an End

With a new council year come new committee assignments and the election of a new president pro tempore. A largely ceremonial role, the pro tem presides over the council in the absence of the vice mayor and sits on the Board of Ethical Conduct as a non-voting member. The pro tem also needs to be ready to ascend to the dais in the event of a vice mayoral vacancy, as then-pro tem Sheri Weiner did in 2018 when then-Vice Mayor David Briley became then-Mayor David Briley after then-then-Mayor Megan Barry resigned. 

This Metro Council term saw back-to-back Tall Guy Caucus members in the role — CM At-Large Bob Mendes (2020-2021) was the Original Tall Guy Pro Tem, and CM Dave Rosenberg carried the torch over the past year. On Tuesday, CM Kyonztè Toombs ascended to the throne, ending the era of the Tall Guy Pro Tem. 

Metro Council v. the Supreme Court of the United States

On Tuesday, the council considered a resolution that would appropriate $500,000 from various unencumbered fund balances — money a department has budgeted but realizes they won’t actually need — for a grant to Planned Parenthood of Tennessee and North Mississippi. The Metro Charter restricts when the council is allowed to make these appropriations, so the resolution was deferred until the Oct. 4 meeting. 

And a bill that would prevent license plate readers from being used to enforce laws that criminalize abortion care passed on third and final reading after facing criticism from the Cop Caucus in committee several weeks ago. CM Russ Pulley, with an assist from an MNPD representative, seemingly pretended not to understand how LPRs could be used to enforce laws of this sort. CM Bob Nash just wants the council to stop making people so anxious by passing all these bills about abortion. 

Councilmanic Courtesy?

“Councilmanic courtesy” is a mostly unspoken rule whereby the council generally defers to the district CM on zoning matters. In a decidedly discourteous showing on Tuesday night, several colleagues attempted to lightly coerce CM Sean Parker into moving forward with a public hearing on the bill to rezone RiverChase. CM Parker has deferred the public hearing five times, as negotiations regarding a community benefits agreement and support for former tenants continue. Heading into Tuesday’s meeting, CMs received dueling emails from nonprofits disagreeing on whether the legislation should move forward to a public hearing. Stand Up Nashville wants the Council to hold out for a stronger, more “enforceable” CBA, but local affordable housing developer Eddie Latimer thinks the council should move ahead.

I’m told that, faced with Parker’s reticence, the developer CREA started lobbying other CMs to sign on to the bill. Four CMs took the bait: CMs At-Large Sharon Hurt and Burkley Allen joined East Nashville district CMs Brett Withers and Nancy VanReece as uninvited guests on the sponsor list. 

To all you would-be developers: If you think for a second that attempting to circumvent the district CM on a rezoning bill gets you anywhere other than up shit creek without a paddle, then I would like some of whatever you’re smoking.

Tensions came to a head on the floor Tuesday night when CM Parker asked for his fifth deferral of the rezoning. In response, Hurt and Allen expressed their support for the project and implored Parker to do whatever he can over the next month to get this deal wrapped up. VanReece bypassed the subtext, asking for a “commitment” from Parker that “we will have a vote the first meeting in October.” 

Parker calmly thanked his colleagues for their interest in this zoning bill in his district and invited them to, more or less, kindly fuck off. “There’s more work to be done to get consensus from the community,” Parker said. “And frankly,” he added, turning toward VanReece, “if that work has not been done ... to the satisfaction of the community, then no, we won’t have a public hearing in October.”

Thanks again to Scene staffer Eli Motycka for coming through in the clutch to file a substitute column in my absence at the last meeting! I had very much planned on leaving y’all high and dry, but Eli is a kind soul who didn’t want you to feel abandoned.