Notes on Community Meeting - Westside/Warner Parks

On Thursday evening Southern Land Company held a meeting to discuss possible development of the Westside Athletic Club site at the intersection of Vaughns Gap Road and Highway 100. Representative from Southern Land Company approached CM Bo Mitchell and I in July about a possible rezoning of the area. At that meeting Bo and I explained that there had been years of fights over this property and lots of bad feelings on both sides. We explained that we felt it would be more productive if Southern Land Company held a meeting to hear about concerns and questions BEFORE they proposed any kind of development or drew anything on paper. We also suggested they contact The Friends of Warner Park to hear their thoughts on what was appropriate for that land.

The meeting on Thursday started with Bo and I both explaining our approach to zoning requests. I told my constituents that I only move legislation forward on a rezoning if it has the support of Metro Planning and the affected neighborhood. In this case, I am also going to be sensitive to the concerns and interests of the Friends of Warner Park. Bo and I also told everyone that we had requested the meeting so Southern Land could get feedback before making a proposal.

Things got off to a bit of a rough start with questions that really did not fit into the format or goals of the meeting. So initially, there was a lot of focus on number of units, cost of units, multi-family versus single family which sort of presumed that there was some plan already developed. Bo and I had initially thought the group could divide up into small groups to provide their thoughts because it would be more efficient and less intimidating for those who don't like to speak in front of large groups. There was some concerns about that approach from folks and so we all stayed together.

Once we got on track we discussed the current zoning and land use. The property is located at the intersection of Vaughns Gap Road and Highway 100 where the Westside Athletic Club is currently located. The Westside Athletic Club is a legally non-conforming use. A long time ago it was apparently a drive-in movie theatre. Before the current zoning code was adopted it was turned into an athletic club. So, it can remain an athletic club - either as Westside or something else - or it can be residential housing without a re-zoning. The area is zoned R8 which means 1-2 units per 8,000 square feet. Deducting 10% of the land area for interior roads, etc, the current zoning will accomodate up to 104 dwelling units. That number could be reduced if areas of the site are not suitable for building because of slope, creeks, etc. So, to reiterate, the current or a future property owner could develop the land as an athletic club or build up to 104 dwelling units without any approval of the Metro Council. There was some confusion initially that Southern Land was considering development in addition to Westside which is not the case. Southern Land is considering replacing the Westside Athletic Club.

The first questions that came up, naturally concerned traffic. There is a long standing demand for a traffic light at Vaughns Gap and Highway 100 and such has been approved by Metro and awaits funding. Everyone was concerned that traffic could not be managed without the installation of the light. There is also some concern about how the rail line interferes with traffic flow when trains are passing. The representative from Southern Land said that they would probably have to pay for signalization and a directional signal for the rail line. A directional signal would alleviate CSX's need to blow their horn all the way through the neighborhood. (Note to self: look into direction signals for the rest of the 23rd district). A traffic study would likely be necessary.

There were concerns about run-off and stormwater. As many of you know this area is plagued by poor drainage. All the water that runs off of Nine Mile Hill and parts of West Meade drains into this neighborhood. To make matters worse, much of it was built without a properly engineered stormwater system. Over the years, we have tried to retro-fit solutions with mixed results. I am not sure where this property falls in the watershed but I will look into that. The developer would of course have to retain their stormwater at pre-development levels and Metro Water Services would have to approve.

There was a concern expressed by residents that any development on the Westside parcel would engender more development. Of particular concern were the redeveloopment of The Belle Meade Highlands condo's and a 26 acre parcel that was characterized as land locked. The Belle Meade Highlands is certainly getting on in years so this is perhaps a valid concern. But since each condo is indivually owned it will probably take a very persistent and patient developer to acquire all of them for redevelopment. I am not sure what was meant by the 26 acre parcel. There is one such sized area two parcels away on Highway 100. It appears to be part of the Harpeth Trace PUD that was passed in 1974. It looks like it is intended to have access to Harpeth Trace Drive and not to Vaughns Gap or Highway 100. To acquire access to Highway 100, it looks like it would need a pass from CSX as a surface crossing would be necessary. To acquire access to Vaughns Gap, the property owner would have to get an easement from the Harpeth Glen Condo's and the Westside property. Southern Land said they had no interest in developing the 26 acre site.

Another topic discussed was preservation of green space. The rep from Southern Land said they would probably want to build a multi-family type project. Doing so could mean a town square type common area, or a park space. We discussed briefly the trade-offs between mulit-story versus single story and use of the whole site versus preservation of green sapce or common areas.

We discussed the use of commercial or mixed use. Westside already has a cafe and some quasi-commercial uses. The rep from Southern Land suggested a coffee shop or something like that might be a nice compliment. The concern is that people would not be able to walk to it because Vaughns Gap has no sidewalks.

We talked about the need for sidewalks all up and down Vaughns Gap. A developer of the Westside property would have to build sidewalks from property line to property line. That won't help people who lived closer to St Henry's but I guess it is a start.

One person asked about senior living - either assisted or independent. The rep from Southern Land seemed to think it was worth considering.

We wrapped up the meeting with Southern Land saying they would consider what was said and decide if they wanted to pursue a project at this location. The rep indicated that their company had never been involved in a major land use dispute and really liked it that way. There have been so many hard feeling about rezoning this property over the years and it was quite evident by the tone of some of the questions.

I spoke with the CEO of Southern Land on Friday and he said they would consider the matter, study Vaughns Gap Rd a bit more and review some of the obstacles to development before making a decision on whether or not to proceed. If they do wish to move forward, we shall have another meeting to discuss more tangible concepts for the Westside property. If Southern Land decides not to proceed, I guess we shall just wait for the next interested developer to show up.

If you have any comments, questions or concerns about this potential development, please call or email me or Bo Mitchell.