Planning Commission Seeks a Quorum

Metro’s 10-member Planning Commission will have a quorum this week, something members no longer take for granted. Lillian Blackshear, whose term expired two months ago, will help the commission reach its six-person attendance minimum.

Chair Greg Adkins and Commissioner Brian Tibbs, both in the middle of four-year terms, are expected to be absent at the body’s June 8 meeting, according to a pre-meeting report by Metro Planning Executive Director Lucy Kempf. Commissioner Jeff Lawson, also expected to be absent, has missed multiple meetings due to ongoing health problems. 

“Technically we’ve continued to have a quorum," Metro Planning spokesperson Richel Albright tells the Scene. "We haven’t had to cancel a meeting." Planning commissioners with expired terms can continue to serve until a new commissioner is appointed, a technicality that's helped the commission meet its six-member threshold this spring. "At this point, we’re in this holding pattern," says Albright. "Luckily, Lillian Blackshear can sit in this week and we’re able to continue to get through our meetings."

Blackshear and Jeff Haynes, whose terms expired on March 31, have pitched in when necessary. Their replacements — Aron Thompson and Matthew Smith — are in limbo after the Metro Council deferred both confirmations in May. 

In the meantime, District 35 Councilmember Dave Rosenberg has foregone a recommendation from the commission and introduced legislation related to the Ariza Bellevue, a 417-unit complex near the Harpeth River, straight to his colleagues in the Metro Council. The development requires a zoning change and an amendment to Bellevue’s development policy, which takes six votes, not just a simple majority, to pass. 

“We have the majority of the commission — six members — in favor," Rosenberg tells the Scene. "We just can’t get six members there at the same time. We’ll have the recommendation by the time we get to a real substantive vote.”

The move has drawn fire from the project’s organized opposition, which referred to Rosenberg’s decision as “democracy deferred, mangled and distorted” in a message to the Scene.

“It’s hard to get six votes for anything, especially something controversial like this,” says District 6 Councilmember Brett Withers, who also sits on the commission. “Metro boards and commissions have struggled to fill vacancies this term. The Planning Commission is no different.”

Blackshear and Haynes, who have attended meetings after the expiration of their terms at the request of Metro in order to make a quorum, have recused themselves from voting on the Ariza because of conflicts of interest. Blackshear is an attorney at Bass, Berry & Sims, and Haynes works in commercial real estate. The pending confirmations of Thompson and Smith, both real estate professionals, have prompted questions from councilmembers about overlap between commissioners and the real estate industry they oversee. On May 16, the confirmations of Smith and Thompson were both deferred to June 20 at the recommendation of Metro Council’s Rules, Confirmations and Public Elections Committee.

The Planning Commission is expected to meet again on June 8.