Dear ,

We are almost to Spring Break, and Spring Forward! I hope you all get some time to enjoy the dawning return of spring. I know there has been a lot going on in the world, so if you ever need to talk, please reach out. I will continue doing everything I can to help things work at the local level, for the people of our district and our city. Please see some district updates below!

Improvements around the District

One of the best things about District service is helping to make improvements around our neighborhoods. Many are needed, and I am working to get many others through the pipeline, but here are a few that have happened recently:

• The windows of our beautiful, 105-year-old East Branch Library building have finally been replaced, after years of issues. This makes the building more efficient, warmer, and more comfortable—go check it out!

• A ramp to the Rosebank Elementary School playground has finally been built, making it fully accessible for children and families.

• Bollards along the Porter Road bike lane are helping with long-standing safety issues and confusion about the boundary between parking and the bike lane.

• As a result of the transit referendum last November, bus service will be improving. Starting on July 6, the 56 Bus (Gallatin Pike) will increase its weekday evening frequency to every 15 minutes, and its weekend frequency to every 15 minutes for both daytime and evening schedules as well. This is a solid first step to getting our bus system to be faster and more reliable!

Please let me know what ideas you have and what needs you see for other improvements around the District!

East End Design Guideline Revisions

As many of you know, a year ago the community and I began discussing a revision to the Neighborhood Conservation Design Guidelines for part of the east side of South 10th Street and a small portion of Shelby Avenue near its intersection with 10th, to dovetail with the rezoning of those parcels that occurred at the end of the last council term. There is now a final proposal for those revisions, which you can see here.

The neighborhood has given extensive, positive feedback to this effort, and the revisions would only apply east of 10th Street, i.e., to the Lockeland Springs-East End Design Guidelines, not to those of Edgefield. The Historic Zoning Commission will hear this proposal on March 19th at 2:00pm at the Howard Office Building. Please feel free to attend, but I know these meetings are often hard to make in person, so please also let me know any thoughts, and you can write to the commission as well at: [email protected]

NOTE: This proposal is not related to the pending legislation—which I oppose—to reassign the currently independent Historic Zoning staff to the Planning Department. There will be a public hearing on that proposed legislation at the 3/18 Council meeting.

Neighborhood Traffic Calming Application Period Is Now Open

The application period for the Neighborhood Street Traffic Calming Program is now open, through March 17th. If you would like your residential street to be reviewed by the city for potential traffic calming, you can learn the details of the program and apply here. The application is not difficult, and only requires either the sign-off of a neighborhood organization or the signatures of four neighbors. I will be happy to help anyone who needs help with the application or the process!

If your street has already been applied for, it remains on the list and you don't need to apply again. You can check if your street has already been applied for here.

After the application, the next step is getting the projects funded. I have been seeing a challenge in getting needed projects funded all over the city, so I will be working for increased funding for this program in the upcoming budget.

Requested beer permit

You may have noticed the renovations to the building that most recently housed Italia Pizza (at the same corner as Lockeland Table and Urban Cowboy). The new operators have requested a beer permit, the public hearing for which will take place at the April 15 council meeting (6:30pm in the Council Chamber at One Public Square). Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns!

As always, please reach out to me directly at [email protected] or 615-864-0008. You can also use Hub Nashville for an array of city services and other Metro requests. 

Hope to see you soon. Yours in service, Clay