A Plan For Preserving Music Row Faces Last-Minute Backlash From Its Residents

This week the Metro Planning Department published the latest version of a plan meant to preserve Music Row.

It’s the culmination of a two-year project that was born following the near-demolition of Historic RCA Studio A and resulted in a temporary ban on tear-downs in the neighborhood.

While planners hoped this would be the final version of the plan, they have seen unexpected opposition from developers and property owners on Music Row, like Carl Massaro
.  

“You’re gonna put this cloud over Music Row that has nothing to do with music and has everything to do with politics,” he said at a recent public meeting.

More:

Read the draft Music Row plan here
.

Massaro is one of many who oppose a concept called the Music Row Code. They worry that the new rules would tangle development in unnecessary red tape.

After working closely with Metro, the Music Row Neighborhood Association says members felt “blindsided” by the last minute inclusion of the code.

Stephanie McCullough of Metro Planning Department says the concept was simply created for “those concerned about the demolition of historic buildings without any kind of oversight.” But, she admits, her agency could have done a better job giving everyone a heads up.

“I wish I had the opportunity to do something different,” she says. “But it was an idea that came up rather quickly, so we generated the proposal and the suggestions for how it would work to put it out there.”

The Metro Planning Commission is currently slated to sign off on the Music Row plan on August 11. McCullough says a final review could now be pushed back. Until July 8, the department will take
feedback online.