An Ordinance amending Title 17 of the Metropolitan Code, Zoning Regulations, by amending Chapter 17.40 pertaining to the approval of urban design overlay districts, all of which is more particularly described herein (Proposal No. 2007Z-178T).

BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:

Section 1. That Title 17 of the Code of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Zoning Regulations, is hereby amended by deleting the provisions of Section 17.40.130 and substituting in lieu thereof the following new provisions:

“A. Application for an Urban Design Overlay District. The applicable goals and objectives of a proposed urban design overlay district shall be established. An urban design overlay district application shall also include a detailed design plan, which shall involve the division of the development of the urban design overlay into specific phases, and all associated design criteria required to implement that plan. The form and content of an urban design overlay district application shall be established by the planning commission. Applications shall be filed with the planning commission.

B. Planning Commission Recommendation. The planning commission shall review a proposed urban design overlay district application, and the proposed phases of the urban design overlay plan, for conformance with the stated design goals and objectives. The planning commission shall act to recommend approval, approval with conditions or disapproval of the application. Within ten working days of an action, the commission's resolution shall be transmitted in writing to the applicant, the metro clerk, the zoning administrator and all other appropriate governmental departments.
1. Approval. Approval of a proposed urban design overlay shall be based on findings that the stated design goals and objectives have been satisfied.
2. Conditional Approval. The planning commission may recommend approval of an urban design overlay district application subject to any conditions deemed necessary to fulfill the goals and objectives. All conditions shall be transmitted in writing to the applicant. The application will not be considered approved until the applicant concurs with all conditions in writing and provides all prescribed amendments to the application.
3. Disapproval. If the planning commission acts to disapprove an application, the reasons for that disapproval shall be stated in writing and transmitted to the applicant.

C. Council Consideration. The metropolitan council shall consider an ordinance establishing an urban design overlay district and its associated design plan, and the specific phases of the development and implementation of the urban design overlay plan, according to the procedures of Article III of this chapter (Amendments). All property owners within and proximate to a proposed urban design overlay district shall be notified according to the procedures of Article XV of this chapter. Testimony and evidence material to the standards of Chapter 17.36, Article VIII may be considered by the council in its deliberations.

D. Final Site Plan Approval. For property located within an urban design overlay district, a final site plan application shall be submitted for review and approval by the planning commission in a manner consistent with the procedures of Section 17.40.170B. Final site plan applications shall be of sufficient detail to fully describe the ultimate form of development and demonstrate full compliance with the design plan and all applicable design standards established by the overlay district. Final site plan approval by the planning commission shall be based on findings that all design standards of the overlay district and other applicable requirements of this code have been satisfied. Once the planning commission has approved the final site plan, the plan shall be submitted for approval by the metropolitan council in accordance with the procedures set forth in Section 17.40.080.

E. Changes to an Urban Design Overlay District. An application to modify an approved urban design overlay district shall be filed with the planning commission. The planning commission shall review all proposed changes according to the procedures of subsection B of this section. A proposed change in the geographic boundary of an urban design overlay district on the official zoning map shall be considered by the council according to the procedures of Article III of this chapter (Amendments).”

Section 2. That Title 17 of the Code of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, Zoning Regulations, is hereby amended by amending Section 17.40.730 by adding the following provision as a new subsection C., and relettering the existing subsection C. as subsection D.:

“C. Final approval by the Metropolitan Council for Urban Design Overlay Districts. Once the planning commission approves a final site plan and the associated development phases of an urban design overlay district, the final site plan shall be submitted to the metropolitan council for approval in accordance with the procedures used for an amendment to the official zoning map as set forth in Section 17.40.080.”

Section 3. That this Ordinance shall take effect five (5) days from and after its passage and such change be published in a newspaper of general circulation, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.

Sponsored by: Bruce Stanley, Robert Duvall, Darren Jernigan