From today’s Nashville City Paper:

Legal opinion delays Council action on Habitat development
Nate Rau, nrau@nashvillecitypaper.com

After being informed by Metro Legal that three pieces of legislation regarding the proposed Habitat for Humanity development called Park Preserve might violate federal land use acts, Councilman Frank Harrison delayed his three bills indefinitely at Tuesday’s Council meeting.

Park Preserve would bring 350 homes into the districts of Harrison and District 3 Councilman Walter Hunt. Neighbors surrounding the proposed Habitat development have voiced their opposition and even filed a lawsuit on the issue.

In response, Harrison looked to alter zoning for the development, along with canceling the Planned Unit Development (PUD) for Park Preserve.

Harrison said he hadn’t seen the Metro Legal opinion and couldn’t comment, but added he would bring the bills forward again.

In the meantime, Harrison said it was his hope neighbors and Habitat leaders could meet and continue to talk about a compromise. The two sides have already met to discuss the issue.

The legal opinion stated that altering the zoning to essentially disallow the development would potentially violate the Fair Housing Act, which protects families and minorities – both of whom take advantage of Habitat’s affordable housing options.

A Council bill passed last year asked the legal department to review zoning legislation to ensure there were no complications. But that process isn’t typically done until third reading.

On Harrison’s three pieces of legislation, the department issued a legal opinion because it was asked to do so by at-large Councilman Charlie Tygard, an advocate for Habitat for Humanity.