The sponsor of a bill to prohibit all future residential development in Nashville’s entire 100-year flood plain said he plans to defer the ordinance until July 20 in order to “get it right” with all parties involved.
In an email to The City Paper over the weekend, Metro Councilman Darren Jernigan said he sat down with representatives of the mayor’s office Friday morning and left the meeting agreeing to defer the bill until the second meeting in July. The bill was originally scheduled to go before the council on first reading Tuesday night.
In exchange, Jernigan said Dean agreed to place a moratorium on issuing building permits to individuals seeking to build within the city’s flood plain.
Jernigan’s bill in its current form, poised to face heavy opposition from developers, doesn’t seem to have Dean's full support, either.
Asked last week for his thoughts about the ordinance, Dean called Jernigan “a good friend of his” but cautioned about moving to quickly.
“In terms of saying this is how development should go forth in Nashville in the future, this is what we need to build in terms of other flood protection, I’m going to want to take my time and think about that and make sure we come up with the right decision,” Dean said.
Jernigan, who represents the Old Hickory area, said he decided to propose the bill after looking into the eyes of hundreds of his constituents whose Waterford subdivision were damaged by Nashville’s historic flood.
Currently, Metro limits residential development on 50 percent of the city’s flood plain.