Joey Garrison

jgarrison@tennessean.com

Nashvillians spent more than two hours Tuesday night debating a proposed ordinance that is designed to generate more affordable housing in Davidson County, with proponents calling the measure a key first step to address what they called a crisis and real estate groups warning of unintended ramifications.

But while both sides had their say at a Metro Council public hearing that went late into Tuesday night, backers of the housing proposal known as inclusionary zoning far outnumbered opponents.

More than 40 spoke in favor of the bill, including two Burmese immigrants from South Nashville who said rising rent could squeeze them out of their apartment complex; several union leaders; members of Black Lives Matter; a journalist; a musician; and representatives of Nashville Organized for Action and Hope, a faith-led coalition focused on poverty and social justice issues.

They decried rising rent in neighborhoods that were once more ethnically diverse, homes dubbed “tall-skinnies” that have supplanted smaller houses in gentrifying neighborhoods and a quality of life they said is slipping.

“There’s something wrong with a city that has a housing policy that drives hardworking people with families out of neighborhoods they’ve lived in most of their lives,” said East Nashville's Rae Sovereign, a college professor who said she would no longer be able to pay for the house she bought five years ago.

Rebecca Wells, a novelist who recently returned to Nashville, said the demolition of homes that she's witnessed in Nashville "breaks my heart." She said the "spirit of a town" could be lost if Nashville neighborhoods continue to lose diversity and its mix of incomes.

“It's not a perfect bill, but we're at a juncture," she said. "We're crossing a threshold, and if we don’t do something now, it will be too late."

The proposed ordinance, which was drafted by a special council committee on affordable housing and is backed by several council members, would require that residential apartment developers building five or more units include a percentage of new affordable or workforce units in their projects when they request a zoning variance for greater development rights such as density or greater height. The policy would not apply to for-sale homes.

To offset the costs of cheaper units, Metro would give developers development grants or incentives from the Barnes Fund for Affordable Housing. Those incentives are outlined in a separate ordinance that the council will consider in two weeks.

The Metro Planning Commission recommended approval of the inclusionary zoning proposal last month, but developers and others from the business and real estate communities have expressed opposition from the beginning. Groups resisting the measure include the Greater Nashville Apartment Association, the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors and the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce.

Eight business stakeholders spoke against the bill Tuesday. Some said they understand the need for affordable housing, but argued this bill simply wouldn't work. Others said the ordinance could be challenged on legal grounds because of a new state bill that outlaws municipalities from adopting policies that mandate affordable housing in new residential projects.

Woody McLaughlin, a member of the statistics committee of the Greater Nashville Apartment Association, said the ordinance would create only about 100 new affordable units each year but could end up raising the market rate of Nashville's rental properties as a whole.

"It will force developers to move outside of Metro, taking with them the jobs, the tax base and creating more traffic problems and more air pollution driving back and forth," McLaughlin said. "It's not the answer that we want."

Jennifer Carlat of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce said the chamber is concerned about new burdens for developers and property owners in regards to enforcement as well as the mechanics of a grant system that is intended to offset the costs of the lower rent.

But Vonda McDaniel, president of the Nashville Central Labor Council, which supports the bill, said firefighters, police officers and other Metro employees "are being priced out of our county" as she warned against the alarm of critics.

"Those of us in the labor movement are very familiar with the arguments against this bill," she said. "Almost every time communities try to do something to help the working class, they are warned it will cost jobs and slow the economy. We know better than that."

The council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve the inclusionary zoning bill on a second of three votes, but debate on the council floor won't occur until final reading in September. At the request of lead sponsor Councilwoman Burkley Allen, the council agreed to defer final consideration until next month so that it can track on the same timeline as the companion incentive bill.

For more than a year, affordable housing has garnered discussion in the council, but the legislative body has yet to take action on any housing policy.

Some affordable housing and poverty advocates have pushed for a more aggressive housing policy, but Tuesday demonstrated an organized and united front for the ordinance that is on the table.

Mayor Megan Barry, who has called affordable housing a top priority, is pushing the incentive bill but has remained neutral on Allen’s inclusionary zoning bill. The incentive bill could work independently if the inclusionary bill does not pass.

Reach Joey Garrison at 615-259-8236 and on Twitter @joeygarrison.