Rezoning in Nashville Market/Sample HPR Attached site plan

[Jason Oggs]

Hello, I am a real estate investor in Nashville TN. I have a property near downtown on Albion Street that is a tear down, but zoned RS5. There has been a 3 new constructions within 1 street of my property. One was a corner lot new construction at 1,300 sqft that sold for $285K last year. The other is a corner lot that was rezoned to R6 last year, & two houses are currently under construction on the lot in the 1,250 sqft range that will be sold in the $285K range each. My goal is to rezone my lot to R6 to build two. I had a community meeting two weeks ago with community members and the councilman. About 25 people showed up, I presented sample images of a two build detached HPR (long and skinnies) & sample site plan. The lot is 50ft by 140ft. Those that came out opposed my detached HPR proposal for rezoning for various reasons, that to me were unreasonable. They spoke of fire hazards with the houses being so close together, obstruction of view & encroachement of neighboring property (immediate neighbor), the idea of skinny houses not fitting the neighborhood or looking ugly, even passing judgement that they could not live in a house that skinny or that close a neighbor, when we know there are plenty of new buyers entering the nashville market that would. All that to say, I am wanting to try a second meeting with a different presentation. I want to present a traditional elevation attached duplex as an alternative option. This would to go from two structures down to one and add more feet away from side set backs of neighbors, and putting the parking in the back off the alley. Or, present a front to back option. Would any of you reading this post have a couple of sample site plans that would fit this type of lot that is an attached duplex or front to back that you would be willing to share. If you have traditional elevations as well that would fit an older neighborhood, that would be appreciated as well. I am hoping that I can sell one of these ideas to the community as opposed to a detached two build long and skinny side by side. The community seemed more open to a single structure as opposed to a two build detached side by side project. Any help, samples or advice you can offer will be appreciated. I want to maximize my return, but since I am an investor and not a builder, it will be hard to only build one house and make a profit, which is why I am seeking rezoning to r6. Thanks for your assistance.

[Devan Mcclish]

@Jason Oggs What you are trying to do is called Spot Zoning. It's extremely difficult if not impossible to actually get it pushed through. Neighborhoods are zoned certain ways on purpose. You need to read the neighborhood plan and speak to your councilman on his/her vision is for the area. If you have push back, you will never get a spot rezone approved. You are entitled to one unit with the current zoning, and I would suggest going that route of just building one

If you want to fight the uphill battle, I would suggest hiring an attorney to assist you in the rezone, speak to your councilman (they will want it changed to R6-A which will drastically change your site plan), door knock the neighborhood and get them to sign a document that they are in support of the rezone, etc. What you are doing now is not going to work. You are using logic and these people are irritated that the big bad rich billionaire developer is coming in

All of their responses are a product of you trying to focus on why you should be allowed to build two. You need to change the rhetoric to show them that 

1. what is currently there is a hazard, fire hazard, needs to be torn down

2. by building two homes, the value of their lots will double 

3. If you built one home, you would have to sell it for a lot more than you would if you built two. Thus, you are assisting in providing more affordable new construction