Long-Contested Whites Creek Development Proposal Defeated

A controversial proposal to build in Whites Creek was struck down by the Metro Planning Commission on Thursday.

The plan, from a subsidiary of homebuilder PulteGroup, was for a 170-lot subdivision in a hilly, farm-adjacent area of Whites Creek on Brick Church Lane.

Residents, advocates and several commissioners voiced concerns for road safety, flooding and ecological costs — like reducing Nashville’s tree canopy.

The land posed for development has natural steep slopes with soils stabilized by trees, so advocates said the construction could have exacerbated flooding and erosion.

“Fifty-nine percent of the parcel will be disturbed. All the large area, contiguous tree coverage will be removed, then replaced by concrete,” said Commissioner Mina Johnson, who voted to disapprove the plan.

Some commissioners argued that Nashville needs more areas for development as the city’s population grows and urged compromise.

“I really think that the neighborhoods who are really wanting to conserve their way of life, so does everybody else in Nashville,” said Commissioner Pearl Sims, who was in favor of the development. “I don’t want to live in a high-rise district, yet that’s what’s coming if we can’t figure out how else to compromise as a city.”

The planning commission ultimately voted against the proposal in a 5-3 vote.

Some Whites Creek residents, who have been fighting this development for years, were moved to tears.