Planning Commission Turns May Town into Maybe Town

Something really great happened last night. It wasn't that the Planning Commission disapproved the May Town Center request - although that was pretty cool. It was the way so many people from so many parts of the city drove out to a little office building by the airport and stood around for hours waiting to weigh in on a project that in some cases was miles from their homes. And in other cases it was right in their back yard.

There were people from Germantown, East Nashville, Donelson, Downtown, West Nashville, Bordeaux and Green Hills. In a real "pay it forward" moment, I listened to one Bordeaux resident tell me about how supportive the Scottsboro/Bells Bend neighbors had been in the fight against the landfill. Now it was his turn to help.

Folks came for all sorts of reasons. Some were concerned about the community planning process. Some wanted to fight for preservation of a beautiful rural landscape. Some had worries about the fiscal and community services impact.

In the end they made a policy statement of what we should be - a city that preserves its rural character and promotes its core - and what we should not - Cool Springs. One resident of the 23rd District has dubbed the policy NIMBY - Nashville Is My Back Yard.

Pretty neat.