Nashville zoning debate escalates to ethics complaint over a Metro Council member

Metro Legal has determined that an ethics violation complaint against District 20 Councilmember Rollin Horton should be dismissed.

The complaint was born out of Horton’s successful rezoning of the Nations, a neighborhood he represents. A group of opponents to the rezoning effort sought to recall Horton, but eventually abandoned that effort in favor of the ethics complaint.

However, the city’s Department of Law has decided that none of the allegations in the complaint would constitute an ethics violation.

The final decision is left up to the Board of Ethical Conduct, who will consider Metro Legal’s recommendation during a Wednesday meeting.

Reported previously:

Nashville is in the middle of an intense debate over housing density. As the city grapples with a housing shortage, city leaders are considering alterations to the zoning code to allow for denser development, and — they hope — to meet the need.

As part of that, earlier this year, Councilmember Rollin Horton successfully rezoned the Nations neighborhood.

His bill — which the council approved in August — would allow developers to build up to 40 units per acre throughout most of the West Nashville neighborhood. The average lot size in that area is one-tenth of an acre, so that means roughly four units will be allowed on most lots.

This legislation angered a group of Nashvillians, who, in reaction, launched an effort to recall Horton by gathering signatures.

Now, the group, “Voices of District 20,” has pivoted. On Nov. 3, the day that the signatures were due, the group instead announced an effort to file a formal ethics complaint. It’s unclear if the group gathered enough signatures (15% of registered voters in the council district) to trigger a recall. But, on Thursday, they officially filed the complaint, which names three residents: Chris Remke, Rachel Gladstone and Lauren Magli.

The complaint accuses Horton of misuse of public office, retaliation against constituents for the recall petitioning and “doxxing” constituents.

It details the “doxxing” of one of the signers, Lauren Magli, through an Instagram post. However, the complaint does not provide any evidence that Horton was behind the post. It does show that a police report was filed, but that officers found “no threats” on the Instagram post.

The complaint also accuses Horton of interfering with petitioners, by directing a constituent to call the police on recall petitioners who were gathering signatures at an event in the Nations. The group’s evidence of that is limited to the constituent confirming Horton’s request “in the presence of witnesses.” The complaint shows that the police did ask the petitioners to leave, citing a lack of permit.

“The climate of fear created is so severe that some neighbors are afraid to submit their signatures publicly fearing retribution,” said Davis Hunt, the publisher of the conservative alt-weekly The Pamphleteer and the group’s spokesperson, at a Nov. 3 press conference.

Hunt said Horton had “betrayed the trust of his constituents” by ignoring those who opposed the rezoning.

“Horton pushed through a massive up zoning plan that will reshape the Nations without real input, notice, consent or even the infrastructure to support it,” Hunt said. “Residents showed up, objected, and were ignored.”

Horton has indicated that the legislation was the result of dozens of community meetings held over the span of two years.

At the press conference, Hunt refused to answer questions about the complaint. Horton contends that many of the people behind the complaint don’t actually live in his district.

“I don’t know why my opponents — primarily from other council districts — are filing a formal ethics complaint, instead of signatures on petitions,” Horton said in a statement to WPLN News before the ethics complaint was filed.

Following the filing, Horton called the complaint a “baseless attempt by the same individuals to disparage me.”

“First these individuals tried to stop the Nations Neighborhood plan, a plan that allows for middle income housing and requires more trees to be planted,” Horton said in a statement. “Then, they tried to recall me over the same plan — unsuccessfully. Rather than accept the outcome of the democratic processes, this small group of individuals continues to try and thwart it. I remain humbled and grateful for the support of the people of District 20. I look forward to putting this distraction behind us, and continuing to address the issues our community faces.”

Metro Legal has two weeks to review the complaint and assess whether the allegations violate Metro’s ethical standards. The complainants are asking for a full hearing before the Board of Ethical Conduct, and requesting subpoenas of Horton’s communications.

This story was updated Dec. 15 with the legal recommendation to dismiss the complaint.