“Nobody’s minding the store” with autonomous cars, commissioner says
Also, “Control-F” for homeless funding and punishment for an illegal short-term rental
Good morning, Nashville! It’s Wednesday, August 12th. Reporting today’s newsletter from Perenn Bakery near Berry Hill.
⚡ Quick hits
Weather: 🌦️ Another heat advisory, chance of showers and thunderstorms. High: 98 with heat index as high as 110. Low: 77.
Metro Traffic and Parking commissioner Robert Gibbs warned “it seems as though nobody’s minding the store” with autonomous cars like Waymo as a state law passed in 2017 prevents Metro from regulating them.
Metro guided local homelessness organizations applying for federal funding to remove words from applications that city officials worried would trigger a denial from the Trump administration, a Metro committee member said.
What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods, including punishment for an illegal short-term rental, plans for hundreds of apartments in The Nations, and mixed results for a mother who pushed for new stop signs in her neighborhood.
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🚗 “Nobody’s minding the store” with autonomous cars
While autonomous cars like Waymo ferry people around Nashville with no one in the driver’s seat, Metro Traffic and Parking commissioner Robert Gibbs warned “it seems as though nobody’s minding the store” with regulating them.
A state law passed in 2017 prevents Metro from regulating the cars. “When I have asked state representatives if they have authority over it, they’re saying no,” Gibbs said.
I’ve ridden in a Waymo in Nashville. It was a smooth, enjoyable ride except when the car seemed to struggle with handling drop off outside Zanies Comedy Club on 8th Avenue South, and put us in a tight space to get out. Metro received dozens of complaints about the cars when they first rolled out, but those seem to have eased. I haven’t seen any recently in the databases I review for this newsletter.
The regulatory concern appears to have come to light because someone wanted Waymo to present to the commission. A Metro lawyer explained, “so, we couldn’t legitimately ask them to come and present before you because it would give the appearance that you could regulate them, which you cannot.”
“Somebody needs to be in a position to regulate them,” Gibbs said. “That is my position, and it’ll stay my position. And I’m going to keep on harping on this until we get something, something done.”
🏠 “Control-F” for homeless funding
Metro guided local homelessness organizations applying for federal funding to remove words from applications that city officials worried would trigger a denial from the Trump administration, Performance Evaluation Committee chair Kerry Dietz said in a public meeting.
“We made a determination to allow grace for project applications that relied on recently disfavored language like housing first, that kind of stuff,” Dietz said. “Tweak those things, take out those words that we’re afraid HUD [U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development] is going to control-F for when our application gets to them... to protect the funds coming in.”
It echoes the early months of the second Trump administration when a member of Metro’s Homeless Planning Council asked for a list of words they should not say after President Trump’s executive orders regarding DEI policies.
HUD wants to shift from a “housing first” strategy, which prioritizes giving someone permanent housing without preconditions like sobriety. Supporters say research shows it’s the “most effective approach to ending homelessness.” HUD called it a failed experiment that cost billions “while homelessness increased to record levels.” A federal judge blocked HUD’s changes on Friday, Politico reported.
“HUD has completely changed its mind about what we’re supposed to be doing,” Dietz said before that ruling. “Our main focus this year was to minimize the impact of confusing, irregular, and contradictory HUD guidelines to protect Nashville’s past investments into proven effective strategies for ending homelessness while also maximizing the amount of money coming into our community now and in the future.”
🏠 What’s new in Nashville’s neighborhoods
12 South
Metro hired a consultant to address parking issues in 12 South as residents and workers compete with tourists for parking spots, according to NDOT. Metro’s Traffic and Parking Commission could make a decision based on the consultant’s recommendations in October.
The Nations
A nearly 300-unit apartment development at 5901 California Avenue took a step toward construction with a master building permit application filed this week. The project will also have commercial space. You can read more about it on page 87 of this Planning Commission document. The permit doesn’t allow construction to start, but it moves the process forward.
South Nashville
La Diferencia Mexican Restaurant at 3943 Nolensville Pike received a 73 in its restaurant health inspection. Concerns include missing date markings on cooked food and raw chicken mixed with raw beef. You can read the full inspection here. And here’s a link to all of today’s restaurant inspections.
Wedgewood-Houston
Moxy, a boutique hotel, filed a building permit application for a 161-room hotel at 1516 4th Avenue South.
Near Germantown
Even after being told to stop operating a home as a short-term rental, Metro says two men continued to advertise and rent a home at 1112 11th Avenue North on Airbnb. A judge fined them nearly $2,000 and made the property ineligible for a short-term rental permit for three years. Court filing here.
Green Hills
A mother, joined by her young daughter as “a reminder of the children we’re trying to protect,” asked Metro’s Traffic and Parking Commission to approve two new stop signs along Woodmont Lane after she said her daughter was almost hit by a speeding car. The commission approved a new stop sign at Woodmont and Auburn, but it denied one at Woodmont and Dartmouth because they said the intersection didn’t meet standards for needing a stop sign. You can listen to the discussion here.
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📰 A few final headlines…
“Why Did MNPD Let a Lobbyist, But Not the Public, Attend a Police Drone Demonstration for Metro Council?” (Rich Text)
“The Nashville Fire Department says it will need an additional $625,000 to complete planned safety improvements along the downtown riverfront” after the death of college student Riley Strain. (Fox 17)
The Perseid meteor shower peaks in Middle Tennessee tonight and tomorrow night. “The best time to look up will be after midnight through daybreak, when the constellation Perseus climbs higher into the sky.” (WSMV)
“Tennessee Attorney General demands financial records from East Nashville youth league after $100K+ fundraising campaign” (WKRN)
Nashville is recruiting poll workers for the November election.
“Taylor Swift Named to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Becoming Its Youngest Inductee Ever” (Variety)
🍔 MAP: click here for restaurant inspections across Nashville
Thank you for reading nash.news! Just reply to this email if you have a correction, story idea, concerns about my coverage, or anything else. You can also email me at ryan@nash.news. I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow! - Ryan