Downtown Nashville’s popular trolley tours could soon face a new set of regulations.
The Metro Council moved an ordinance forward Tuesday night that would differentiate seated sightseeing vehicles (like guided trolley tours or bus tours) from party buses, the latter of which usually allow drinking. Under current Metro code, both vehicle types fall under regulations set for entertainment transportation vehicles.
Under current regulations, neither tour buses/trolleys nor party buses can operate downtown on weekdays from 4 to 6 p.m. The proposed ordinance would allow for sightseeing vehicles to operate within the downtown core from 4 to 6 p.m., as long as they follow approved fixed routes and maintain the speed of traffic.
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“They're different,” the bill’s sponsor, District 19 Councilmember Jacob Kupin, tells Scene sister publication the Nashville Post. “A party bus is standing and drinking, and a sightseeing [vehicle] is sitting and getting a tour. And those are very different experiences, and in my opinion should be regulated differently.”
“So it's really not conducive, in my opinion, to the business model and the purpose of these sightseeing vehicles, and I also don't believe that the congestion caused by these vehicles is so substantially impactful that it warrants their removal,” he added of the current time restrictions.
The proposal also adds clarification language that the sightseeing vehicles do not allow alcohol consumption.
The ordinance comes after lawsuits involving the transpotainment industry have been filed against Metro in recent years. Some have argued that the proposed regulations are a form of special treatment for Old Town Trolley Tours, which operates a majority of the sightseeing vehicle tours downtown. (Gray Line also offers a notable presence.)
The proposal was approved on its second of three readings.
The body also selects Delishia Porterfield as president pro tempore, chooses other committee chairs
In other business, the council advanced a lease agreement with PNH Properties LLC, the entity overseeing the development of the Dolly Parton SongTeller Hotel and Dolly’s Life of Many Colors Museum. The downtown hotel and museum will be housed in the former 211 Commerce office tower.
In addition, the ordinance would allow PNH Properties to lease Commerce Center Park, updating the outdoor area while also creating a Metro fire station in the future hotel building’s parking garage.
The council also passed a contract on its first reading to allow Opry Entertainment Group to operate Ascend Amphitheater.
In addition, the legislative body gave a final approval for extended regulations on vape shops, requiring the stores to be located no closer than a quarter-mile from one another (with an exception for downtown), among other restrictions.
This article was first published by our sister publication, the Nashville Post.
