Liberty on the Rocks, Thursday, January 21, 2016

Liberty on the Rocks, Thursday, January 21, 2016, 5:30 PM/ Mafiaoza's 2400 12th Ave S Nashville, TN 37204. For more info, follow this link.

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Update. What's on the Council Agenda for 1-19-16: Gun Shows at the Fairgrounds, a stronger Human Relations Commission, and a disapproved zoning change.

The Council agenda for 1-19-2016 is available at this link. The staff analysis is not yet available so I am providing my analysis without benefit of the staff analysis, so you may want to check back for an update or seek out the staff analysis for yourself at this link. The staff analysis is now available but I have not read it.

Appointments to Boards and Commissions. There are ten mayoral appointments on the agenda for Council confirmation. As is usual, I expect all to be confirmed without debate. The most notable of these appointments is that of former mayoral candidate, Democrat Party fund raiser, and local business tycoon Bill Freeman to the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority. I think this is a good appointment. The Metropolitan Airport Authority is undergoing its first major management restructuring in 28 years and it recently received a scathing evaluation from a consultant hired to evaluate the organization. The  $119 million-per-year organization that oversees Nashville International Airport was criticized for being "paternalistic, dictatorial and centralized.” To read the Tennessean's report on the issues surrounding the Airport Authority follow this link. Someone of the high profile and business credentials of Bill Freeman on the board of the Airport Authority can restore confidence that needed changes will take place at the Airport.

Resolutions: There are 15 resolutions on the agenda. At this time they are all on "consent," meaning they are deemed non-controversial and will be all lumped together and pass by a single vote instead of being considered separately. A resolution will be moved off of consent and considered separately unless it receives a unanimous positive vote from the committee to which it was assigned. Any member from the floor may ask for an item to be taken off of consent or any member may request his dissenting vote or abstention be recorded. Below are the resolutions of interest:

RESOLUTION NO. RS2015-76   is "A resolution requesting the Metropolitan Board of Fair Commissioners to reinstate and continue to allow gun shows on Fairgrounds property and to otherwise comply with Section 11.602 of the Metropolitan Charter."

On Tuesday December 1, 2015 the Fair Board voted to discontinue gun shows at the fair grounds after the pending gun show of the December 4th and 5th weekend. The Fair Board was supposedly going to develop new guidelines to improve safety at the Fairgrounds and then would reconsider allowing gun shows if exhibitors would agree to the new rules.  No one really believed the Fair Board would ever allow gun shows to return to the fairgrounds. Metro legal weighted in and legal told the Fair board to allow the gun shows scheduled for January. This resolution was on the Council agenda for December 15th, but since Metro legal had ruled the gun shows scheduled for January could still take place this was deferred, I would assume to see it this could be resolved without Council action. It has not been resolved so this is back on the agenda.

With a much more "progressive" council than ever n the past, it will be worth watching how this turns out. I suspect the major motivation for this is simply a dislike for gun culture and support for anything to curtail the proliferation of gun ownership. I also suspect however that there is certain elite liberal snobbishness at play which looks down its nose at gun shows. Until country music became the most listened to format and a major source of income for Nashville, the elites were embarrassed by country music also. I tend to think the opposition to gun shows may be motivated more by a sociopolitical class prejudice rather than a gun control motivation.  I believe there is a certain desire for Nashville to appear progressive and enlightened and progressives want the "redneck" element to be deprived of outlets to express themselves. They would prefer that part of Nashville's identity not be tied to stock car racing, flea markets, and gun shows. Also, the Gun and Knife shows bring in a quarter of million dollars a year to the struggling fair grounds. Part of the effort to end the gun shows may be an effort to deprive the fair grounds of revenue in hopes that it will eventually be operating so deep in the red that there will be greater reason to close the fairgrounds and sell off the property.They would much prefer that property be a trendy mixed-use development or a corporate campus.

Bill Goodman's Gun and Knife show has been operating at the Fairgrounds for 35 years and there is no evidence that illegal gun sales have ever occurred there or even that a gun or knife purchased there has ever been used in a criminal act. There are some felons who have stated that the gun shows at the Fair grounds is where they obtained their gun, but one may surmise they did not want to admit to an additional crime of stealing a firearm so those admission from felons should be taken with a grain of salt.

Only licensed dealers are permitted to sell firearms at the fairground gun show. Under current law if you as an individual sell a gun to another individual, you do not have to be a licensed firearm dealer and you do not have to perform a background check on the person to whom you are selling. That is what is known as the "gun show loophole."  However, at the Nashville Gun and Knife Show only licensed dealers were allowed to exhibit and sell guns.

 RESOLUTION NO. RS2016-86  is another one of these PILOT deals (payment in lieu of taxes). I don't know if this is a good deal or not, but I hope it is carefully scrutinized.

Bills on First Reading. There are five of them and they will be passed by a single vote of the council. Bills on First Reading or normally not debated or evaluated.

Second Reading: There are seven bills on second reading. These are the ones of interest:

BILL NO. BL2015-81 is a bill which is disapproved by the Planning Commission and rezones 9.2 acres off on Clarksville pike which would allow the construction of between 72 to 120 apartment units of what is considered "workforce housing" which is another term for affordable housing. Here is a link to a Tennessean story about the The planning Commission's unanimous vote to disapprove the bill. At the last council meeting a lot of people spoke both for and against the bill. To win council approval, since it was disapproved by the Planning Commission, will require 27 votes. This will be the first test of the new council to see if "councilmanic courtesy" is really dead.

BILL NO. BL2016-99 would end term limits for member of the Human Relations Commission.  This needs to be defeated! If anything the Human Relations Commission needs to be abolished; it does not need to be strengthened. It serves no purpose except to promote and enforce politically correct attitudes. Anything they do that really needs doing could be done by other agencies. There is a Fair Housing Office to take fair housing complaints and the Attorney Generals office can take complaints of illegal discrimination.  One of the most objectionable things this agency does is sponsor the twink booth at the Gay Pride festival. They call it the "youth pavilion." 

Third Reading: There are 25 bills on Third Reading and most of them are zoning bills. These are the ones of interest.

BILL NO. BL2015-84  establishes the Waverly Belmont Neighborhood Conservation Overlay District.  This would restrict the tearing down of existing housing and building a very large home or two large homes on the lot.  On some streets in this part of town, there are more big new houses than original smaller houses.  I understand the desire to preserve the character of the neighborhood but a consequence of not allowing the character of a neighborhood to change and more expensive homes to be build is that our tax base does not keep pace with the demand for more spending.  Also by restricting this type of tear-down and replacement with larger homes in one area puts more pressure for this to occur on those areas adjacent to the area with the overlay.  It shifts the problem and intensifies it for neighboring neighborhoods. For more information see the Tennessean reporting on the issue.

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Planning Commission hearing on Inclusionary Zoning.

This is an eight-hour meeting. I don't think anyone wants to watch the full meeting. The discussion of the inclusionary zoning starts at time-stamp 36:40 and ends at 3:45:20. To summarize the comments, developers don't like it because it goes too far and advocates of affordable housing don't like because it does not go far enough. No one speaks in favor of the proposal. For access to the Planning Commission agenda and staff reports, follow this link. To see the Planning Commission staff report on the proposed inculusionary zoning text see page 5 through page 41.

At time stamp 42:50 the staff begins the explanation of the incusionary zoning  proposal and completes this explanation at 1:02:30. One thing interesting in this proposal is that the set aside affordable units must be similar in size and number of bedrooms to the non set-aside units. So if the units in a condo sale for $500,000 dollars and the bedrooms are very spacious, the units set aside as "affordable" must also be at least 80% as spacious. I have a question: If the non-set-aside units include concierge service, a gym, a spa, a pool, dog-walking service and fresh cut flowers every day, do the set-aside units also get these services and amenities?  If there is a hefty condo fee for the non-set aside units, do the set-aside units have to pay the same fee? Is that monthly condo fee included in calculating affordability?  I don't know.

Following the staff explanation, the chairman ask for those who wish to speak in favor of the proposal to come forward. No one does. No one supports the proposal. Opponents are then permitted to speak. Proponents of affordable housing express displeasure saying they want a mandatory program. I am surprised that more people did not speak. NOAH and VOICE representatives spoke but no mainstream housing advocates spoke. No one speaks in opposition from a pro-free-market position. The only developer who speaks is former Metro Councilman Roy Dale.

Following the pubic hearing, the members of the Commission discuss the proposal. There is some interesting discussion. One thing is very clear; without a large Metro subsidy this proposal will simply not work. Those unit build to be affordable for someone at 100% of area median income (AMI) would require more subsidy than those built to be affordable for someone at 80% AMI and so on. Also, this proposal would not address the very low income or the needs of the homeless. This proposal does not and cannot impose rent control, due to state legislation that prevents a city from imposing rent control. This proposal would not incentivize affordable housing in areas that already have adequate affordable housing. To get developers to seek the density or height bonuses proposed in this plan, it takes away established bonuses. This proposal is a "voluntary" inclusionary program but designed to force a developer to seek the bonuses (see time stamp 3:02:00). This is a very complex proposal and while I have a general understanding of what is proposed, I do not fully understand all of the details of the setback, parking, and height bonuses of the proposal. It would take some study to digest all of what is proposed. The proposal does nothing to preserve existing affordable housing stock nor to encourage greater housing density throughout the county. The commission votes unanimously to recommend that the Metro Council disapprove the proposed voluntary inclusionary zoning policy.

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Planning Commission rejects "Inclusionary zoning" affordable housing plan. No one likes it.

Affordable housing plan dealt blow by planning commission

by Joey Garrison, The Tennessean, Jan. 15, 2016 - A proposed system of financial incentives designed to spur affordable housing in Nashville was dealt a blow Thursday by the Metro Planning Commission, which voted to reject the plan as they called for more community input on the issue.
After nearly four hours of debate — one that saw both affordable housing advocates and developers vent concerns with the plan — the commission voted unanimously to recommend that the Metro Council disapprove the proposed voluntary inclusionary zoning policy.

Their hope is that the council, which is set to consider the legislation next month and has ultimate say, will send the bill back to the commission, which would then initiate a public engagement process on how to solve affordable housing......

"Half of the folks are thinking we should have gone a lot further, and others think we're crazy for going down this path at all," planning commissioner Stewart Clifton said. "So, there's a certain amount of inevitability that the general public is not going to be for this." (read more)

Nashville Affordable Housing Policy Criticized, Disapproved, Likely Delayed 

By Tony Gonzalez, Nashville Public Radio,  Jan 15, 2016- Nashville’s new affordable housing proposal was dealt a blow Thursday night after three hours of criticisms from poverty advocates, developers and planning commissioners. 

In the end, the commission refused to endorse the affordability blueprint offered by planning staff. During a public hearing, no one spoke in favor of the plan.(read more)

I am among those who think we are crazy for going down this path at all. I am pleased to see the Planning commission reject this proposal.While Nashville's proposed version of inclusionary zoning is a voluntary incentive-based plan and is not a bad as mandatory plans it is still a bad plan which would most likely slow the development of new housing. 

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Nashville planners seek delay on affordable housing proposal

by Joey Garrison, The Tennessean, Jan.12, 2016 - Metro Nashville planners have finalized a proposal for a new system of financial incentives that would seek to encourage developers to build more affordable housing in Davidson County. But they don’t want the Metro Council to vote on the measures just yet.  ....the planning department has asked the planning commission to approve... officials have recommended that the council delay consideration until Nashvillians have more time to weigh in. .... proposal hinges on perhaps as much as $10 million in recurring funds that would need to be carved out in Metro’s upcoming budget. .....Planners want more discussion on one of the key elements of the proposal: the elimination of bonuses that are offered to developers who provide public parking, pursue eco-friendly building standards and promote mixed-use development. This bonus system would be replaced by one focused on incentives for affordable housing. (read more)

For more on this topic also see,  Metro planners recommend affordable housing incentives.

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Bill filed to nullify the Metro Nashville local hire amendment

From Senator Jack Johnson: Preview of the 2016 Legislative Session 

Local Hiring– A bill has been filed to stop local governments from enacting any charter provision, ordinance, resolution, referendum or regulation which requires a company bidding on a public construction project to employ individuals that reside within their jurisdiction. The legislation comes after the adoption of a charter amendment pushed by labor unions in Nashville that requires at least 40 percent of work hours of local companies bidding on contracts come from Davidson County workers on Metro construction projects that cost $100,000 or more. The amendment does not affect companies outside of Tennessee, which can hire as many out-of-county or out-of-state workers as they choose. The practical effect of the bill would be to nullify the Metro Nashville amendment and prevent other local governments from taking similar action in the future.

My comment: Thank God for a common sense State legislature that is stopping Nashville form becoming the San Francisco of the South. I expect this bill to pass and hopefully if Nashville should pass a proposed inclusionary zoning ordinance that the State legislature will also nullify it. 

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Commission to review proposed inclusionary zoning policy

By Linda Bryant, Nashville Post, January 13, 2016 - Nashville’s legislation on affordable and workforce housing faces a key hurdle Thursday when the Metropolitan Planning Commission meets to consider approval of long-awaited inclusionary zoning legislation.

But even as the Metro Planning Department’s IZ proposal moves forward via a commission review, it is paradoxically in the process of slowing down.

Crosscurrents are being created by a few factors including the absence of a funding structure for as much as $10 million in recurring funds needed from Metro’s budget and misgivings about skittish developers seeking eleventh hour changes to the proposal.

Meanwhile, affordable housing advocates are signaling displeasure with the proposal and say they will let their concerns be known at tomorrow's 4 p.m. Metro Planning Commission meeting.....Bill Hostettler, principal broker with Nashville-based HND Realty LLC,  said that the UZO covers building uses beyond residential, such as retail and office. As such, he is concerned that even an incentives-based IZ policy could dissuade mixed-use development that includes residential (if the incentives for the preferred options are not as strong as those for a less-preferred option).....(read more)

This should be deferred by the Planning Commission. No one is happy with it and the Supreme Court may very well rule that this type of "taking" is unconstitutional and there is no source of funding to fund the "incentives." Also, it is doubtful it will result in very many units of affordable housing being built and it will most likely lead to an increase in the price of housing and a decrease in the availability of affordable housing; not an increase.

Advocates of a free market and private property rights should attend the Thursday 4PM  meeting of the Planning Commission and object to this proposal. The meeting will be held in the auditorium of the Howard Office Building, 700 Second Avenue South.

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1ST TUESDAY is FRIDAY Jan 15th: ''GUNS & POLITICS" features NRA National Board Member Tim Knight and St. Sen Mark Green & Kerry Robert

From Tim Skow:

1ST TUESDAY Members &Friends ...

 IF .... you also forced yourself to watch OBAMA last night... it looked like he was dodging the ''GUNS & POLITICS'' storm he started last week. HOWEVER... Hillary is running TV ads telling everyone she is coming for gun manufactures and gun owners !! Make NO mistake, a MAJOR political fight is coming in 2016 at every level on the ballot !!

THIS FRIDAY [the 15th ] ... our ''GUNS & POLITICS" lunch event features a powerful line up that YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS !!

From the National Rifle Association : NRA National Board Member Tim Knight ! [ Tim started the successful fight in Colorado that recalled multiple State Senators, beat Obama & NYC Mayor Bloomberg's $$$ and helped flip the political balance in Colorado ]

From the TN State Senate :

• Kerry Roberts with a Legislative Update 
• Green about his open carry legislation 

From the Federal front : Grant Starrett, Republican primary candidate for TN-4

When it comes to talk and action about ''GUNS & POLITICS ''... we got it covered!

A SPECIAL INVITE...
We will host a complimentary "Meet & Greet" with Tim Knight starting at 10:45. Plan to come early and speak with Tim. You will love hearing about beating Obama, CO Gov Hickenlooper, Michael Bloomberg and more in Colorado. And the fight just won to control the VA State Senate.

As usual, we will meet at WALLER Law - 511 Union Street 27th floor. Lunch is $20 for those who have taken care of their 2016 annual dues and $25 for those who have yet to do so. Secure your seats [and dues if need be ] at our website www.1sttuesdaynashville.com and click on JOIN US. Time is short, so please make your plans today...and PASS this invite to those you know!

Tim Skow
Host of 1ST TUESDAY

Reminder.. Col. Allen West coming to 1ST TUESDAY on Monday, March 7th. Those who've taken care of 2016 annual dues ... secure your seating while seats remain. This event will SELL OUT !!

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Tennessee's Beacon Center part of of the Supreme Court challenge of Inclusionary zoning

Amicus Brief: California Building Industry Ass’n vs. City of San Jose BY BRADEN H. BOUCEK, Beacon Center, October 19, 2015 - We joined this brief in support of the California Building Industry Association’s request for the Supreme Court to accept review of the California Supreme Court’s decision. There, the California Supreme Court upheld the City of San Jose’s Inclusionary Zoning ordinance that required home builders to sell a certain percentage of their newly-built homes at below market value. Our shared position is that this is an unconstitutional exaction, prohibited under the Constitution’s Takings Clause.

We believe that this issue has great relevance in Nashville and throughout the state with the growing emphasis on “affordable housing,” a major issue in the Nashville mayoral race. Nashville is expected to add 1 million people over the next twenty years. The cost of housing has skyrocketed in many neighborhoods. The City Council voted to draft mandatory inclusion zoning proposal, currently in the works, that, like the San Jose law, would require a certain percentage of newly built homes be priced as affordable. Unconstitutional inclusionary zoning laws are sure to be an issue in the very near future for all Tennesseans, and the Beacon Center intends on insisting that any municipalities stay within constitutional parameters and respect the property rights of Tennesseans.

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Republican caucus keeps Jeremy Durham as leader

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Bernie Sanders tour coming to TSU

Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders plans to bring his "Feel the Bern" tour of historically black colleges to Tennessee State University in Nashville. No date yet. READ MORE

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How Inclusionary Zoning Makes Housing More Expensive

by Gary M. Galles, The Los Angeles Times, Jan. 4, 2016 - This month the U.S. Supreme Court will decide whether to hear a legal challenge to San Jose's controversial inclusionary housing ordinance. Enacted in 2010 and upheld by California's top court in June, this zoning law requires housing developers of 20 or more units to sell 15% of them at prices far below their market value or pay a six-figure fee instead.

More than 170 California communities impose similar mandates and set-asides, but the net effect isn't more affordable housing for all. Rather it is a reduction in the construction of new homes, which pushes prices upward. ....This is hardly a solution to a housing affordability crisis. It's also an unconstitutional government taking of private property without just compensation, and a violation of several precedents specifically, which is why the San Jose case deserves consideration by the Supreme Court.. ...

An analogy reveals the foolishness of inclusionary zoning.

Suppose there was a law that if you opened a new supermarket you had to sell 15% of your groceries to low-income people at far-below market prices to improve their access to good nutrition. This would clearly be an unfair burden. Those wanting to open new supermarkets did nothing to cause the problem; on the contrary, they intended to increase food accessibility. Read more

Gary M. Galles is a professor of economics at Pepperdine University, a research fellow with the Independent Institute in Oakland and author of "Faulty Premises, Faulty Policies." Before the Council passes our own version of inclusionary zoning, I hope they will think long and hard about the effect of such a policy. If it is passed, I hope the State will ban it or the Supreme Court will strike it down.

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