Infill development in East Nashville (Courtesy of Russell Conner)
Through a nine member architectural review board known as the Metropolitan Historic Zoning Commission (MHZC), applications for work on properties within NCZO districts are reviewed according to a set of design guidelines, criteria and standards developed jointly by the MHZC and the residents of the neighborhood. These guidelines, which are in addition to the base or land use zoning of an area, help determine the architectural compatibility of proposed projects, protecting neighborhoods from the development of properties that are inconsistent or not in character with the surrounding context. In addition, they help preserve structures that are historic or architecturally important to the community.
Design guidelines are criteria and standards which the Metropolitan Historic Zoning Commission must consider in determining the appropriateness of proposed work within a neighborhood conservation zoning district. Appropriateness of work must be determined in order to accomplish the goals of historic and neighborhood conservation zoning, as outlined in Article IX (Historic Zoning Regulations), Metropolitan Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance:
To preserve and protect the historical and/or architectural value of buildings or other structures;
To regulate exterior design, arrangement, texture, and materials proposed to be used within the historic district to ensure compatibility;
To create an aesthetic appearance which complements the historic buildings or other structures;
To foster civic beauty;
To strengthen the local economy; and
To promote the use of historic districts for the education, pleasure, and welfare of the present and future citizens of Nashville and Davidson County. Source: Nashville Metro Historic Zoning Handbook
Through the NCZO program, the impact of new construction infill and adaptive reuse is regulated in terms of height, scale, setback and rhythm of spacing, materials, texture, details and material color, roof shape, building orientation, proportion and rhythm of openings. In addition, in principle, in principle, the demolition of character contributing historic or architecturally significant buildings is considered not appropriate and not recommended.
Hope Gardens in Nashville
Finally, mitigating affordable housing, displacement and gentrification are also huge areas where conservations districts can play an important role in preserving established neighborhoods across the country. Between 2016 and 2017, over 100 people moved to metropolitan Nashville each day, raising the region’s population to 1,904,226. Considered to be one of the country’s boomtowns, many neighborhoods that are not NCZO districts have suffered with large scale displacement, gentrification and loss of historic character due to incompatible infill development. In a 2013 article regarding the city’s struggles with infill development and it’s impact on affordable housing, developers cited conservation overlays as a positive tool to combat the problem:
Lynn Taylor (Taylor Made Plans) says infill in East Nashville has succeeded in its goal of continuing to provide affordable housing to buyers where Sylvan Park has failed because of the conservation overlay. Without it, she isn’t sure that the eclectic people who make up the fabric of East Nashville could afford to live there anymore.
“There is really a debate about whether you improve a community by tearing down houses and building all new,” she says. “All you have to do is go over to Sylvan Park. They have some of the most butchered houses, and some houses that are just huge.
“In 12South, the same thing is happening. When all the little houses get torn down, and you no longer have a diversity of architecture and a diversity of people, and all the home price points get to be $400,000-500,000.” Source: https://www.tnledger.com/editorial/ArticleEmail.aspx?id=65966&print=1
LaVilla is an area within Downtown Jacksonville where the creation of a conservation district may be appropriate.
For Jacksonville, not only could the implementation of conservation districts help sustain established Northside communities, they could also provide a method for revitalizing and protecting the scale and form of distinctive areas near Downtown such as LaVilla, the Rail Yard District and the Eastside.
Article by Ennis Davis, AICP. Davis is a certified senior planner and graduate of Florida A&M University. He is the author of the award winning books “Reclaiming Jacksonville,” “Cohen Brothers: The Big Store” and “Images of Modern America: Jacksonville.” Davis has served with various organizations committed to improving urban communities, including the American Planning Association and the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation. A 2013 Next City Vanguard, Davis is the co-founder of ModernCities.com and Transform Jax, a tactical urbanist group. Contact Ennis at edavis@moderncities.com