Nashville Council Closes Sidewalk Loophole

NASHVILLE, TN — Starting July 1, expect more residential developers to build sidewalks across Davidson County. The Metro Council voted unanimously Tuesday to close one of the broader loopholes in the city's sidewalk requirement by curtailing the ability of builders to pay into the city's sidewalk fund rather than constructing sidewalks themselves.

Under current policy, only developers of subdivisions are required to either build sidewalks or pay into the fund. Under the change, which has been opposed by builders, that requirement will extend to all residential construction and far fewer projects will qualify for the payment option.

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Specifically, if there is already a sidewalk on the property, a neighboring property or anywhere on the block, the fee option will be unavailable.

Further, the broader construction or payment requirement will be extended out of subdivision into a wider-ranging swath of projects.

Sidewalks will be required in front of single-family homes or duplexes in the Urban Zoning Overlay, corresponding roughly to downtown and its neighboring neighborhoods. They will also be required in single-family homes or duplexes on major and collector streets in the Urban Services District — essentially the old City of Nashville and more heavily populated adjacent areas — and on any secondary streets a quarter mile or less from "neighborhood centers" defined by the planning department. In multifamily and commercial developments, sidewalks will be required on major and collector streets in the urban services district and secondary streets a quarter mile or less from those neighborhood centers.

Image by J.R. Lind, Patch staff