Metro Council meeting of 4/15/2014. The debt report and bicycle parking meeting.

This is a shot meeting at only 46 minutes long and it is a real boring meeting so there is no point in watching it.

If you are gong to watch it and wish to following the meeting with the agenda, staff analysis and my analysis follow this link. Here are the meeting highlights:

All but three resolutions are on the consent agenda. Those on the consent agenda pass and none are pulled. One not on consent is an insignificant memorializing resolution honoring a person. The other two are these:

• RESOLUTION NO. RS2014-1051 which appropriates over $9 million from the General Fund Reserve Fund (the 4% fund) for the purchase of equipment and building repairs for various departments of The Metropolitan Government. It passes unanimously without discussion. I see nothing controversial in this resolution so assume it is all Ok.
• RESOLUTION NO. RS2014-1052 which is four proposed charter amendments. If approved by the the Metro Council, they would be placed on the ballot to be voted on by the people. Some of these proposed amendments need to be rejected. Following the recommendation of the Charter Revision Committee of the Council, this bill is differed to the May 20th meeting of the council. There are two very important proposed amendments. One would reduce the size of the Council and extend term limits to three terms instead of two and the other controversial proposed amendment would make it easier for Metro government to dispose of the fairgrounds. 

All bills on First reading pass without discussion as is customary and all bills on Second reading pass without discussion.

Bills on third reading

• BILL NO. BL2012-302 is an amendment to a portion the Nashboro Village Planned Unit Development Overlay District for a portion of property located at Nashboro Boulevard to permit neighborhood retail uses not to exceed one story, where 27,600 square feet of commercial uses was previously approved. I have not followed this issue, but six people vote against it and only 21 vote in favor. I was unaware of a controversy about this bill. There was no discussion. The "no" votes are the more conservative members of the Council such as Duvall, Dominy, Stites, and Tygert. Anytime a property is down zoned that is a "taking" of property unless the owner agrees to the down zoning. I assume that is what is going on here but have no specific knowledge of this bill. 
• BILL NO. BL2014-696 amends the Metro code to require the Director of Finance to submit an annual debt report to the Metropolitan Council on the debt of this city. This is an excellent bill and will give the Council greater insight into the debt obligations of the city. This bill passes unanimously without discussion 
• BILL NO. BL2014-714 amends the Metro code to require bicycle parking spaces be provided for commercial property in certain circumstances. This seems as reasonable as requiring auto parking. With Nashville becoming more of an urban community and this seems reasonable to me.
• BILL NO. BL2014-715 would require that the applicant pay the fees for advertising and posting of signs on property proposed for rezoning. In most cases this would appear reasonable but in the case of, for instance, at the request of a community numerous properties would be subject to an overlay or a rezoning to single family, this could cost thousands of dollars. This bill, in its current form, is a bad bill in my view. It is differed one meeting.

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