Update: As of Monday, Sept. 16, the Metro Nashville Government says it will wait at least 10 days before demolishing any structures in Old Tent City.
That is considerably less time than the 90-day reprieve requested by the encampment’s residents. However, Metro Codes says a working group of multiple Metro departments, plus the homelessness outreach group Open Table Nashville, will meet over the next 10 days. Depending on the group’s decision, demolitions could be pushed back further.
Reported earlier:
After over a week of confusion and mixed messages, the Metro Nashville government and the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) have confirmed: They have no plans to close an encampment near Silliman Evans Bridge. However, Metro does plan to demolish some larger dwellings in the camp.
Old Tent City has been around since the 1980s, and it’s currently home to over 100 unhoused Nashvillians. A few residents have built homes on the site out of wood and other found materials. Kenneth Ross, who’s lived in the encampment for about a year, said some of the dwellings the city plans to demolish took time and talent to build.
“Everything that made those houses came from the trash,” he said. “A lot of these guys, you know, some of them can’t read, they can’t read a tape measure even. They’re using a piece of yarn to measure things.”
At least one is two stories tall.
“That particular house has a potbellied stove,” Ross said. “His potbellied stove is up to code, you know, proper space and everything.”
TDOT started the confusion last week, when it posted signs around the entire encampment ordering everyone to move out by Friday, Sept. 13.
Residents organized and released a joint statement asking the city and state to give them at least 90 days to prepare. They also asked for a guarantee they’ll get both permanent and temporary housing for anyone who is forced to move.
“(We need) a campground where people can go when Tent City closes,” they said. “All the other big camps have been shut down, shelters are full, and it’s nearly impossible to find housing that we can afford, especially housing that will take our pets. (And) if anyone has to be displaced, they need to have access to storage for their belongings, adequate tents and tarps, and relocation support.”
TDOT says it has no plans of its own to force people out of the encampment. The agency says Nashville’s Metro government asked it for help demolishing the larger dwellings, but then withdrew the request.
Nashville’s Office of Homeless Services says that, while it has no plans to close the camp, the larger dwellings must be demolished because they are unsafe. In Thursday’s episode of WPLN’s daily show, This is Nashville, Mayor Freddie O’Connell explained that some of the safety issues stem from the sophisticated construction of the dwellings.
“(Metro) Codes definitely has concerns when there are structures that are not built to code, especially if there is electrical going in there,” he said. “Fire safety, life safety, all of those things.”
It’s unclear when the city will demolish the dwellings, and some advocates say demolition plans are moving forward much too fast. Lindsey Krinks is co-founder of Open Table Nashville, a nonprofit that serves the unhoused community. She called in to Thursday’s This is Nashville to ask the mayor for a more concrete timeline.
“Do you think it’s right for people’s homes to be demolished with less than two weeks’ notice, homes that they’ve spent years building during the midst of the housing crisis?” she said. “Are you willing to do everything you can to make sure those homes are not demolished on Monday? And will they get the 90-day extension that they’re wanting?”
The mayor did not have an answer, but said at a press conference Friday he would consider the residents’ requests and make a decision over the weekend.
Update: this story was updated Friday to include comments from Old Tent City resident Kenneth Ross and the latest available information from the mayor.
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