title
An ordinance amending Chapter 13.32 of the Metropolitan Code of Law relative to removals of obstructions in the right-of-way.
body
WHEREAS, the Metropolitan Public Health Department’s brief on “How Transportation Impacts Our Health” found that access to transit significantly improved health outcomes; and
WHEREAS, the average temperature in Nashville has increased almost 5 degrees since 1970, and increasing temperatures makes accessing transit options more difficult for all people; and
WHEREAS, Nashvillians have historically placed temporary, homemade benches in the right-of-way to provide temporary seating to those waiting for a bus or needing to rest; and
WHEREAS, such temporary benches help provide temporary infrastructure aiding in public health while Nashville works towards building permanent infrastructure through Choose How You Move; and
WHEREAS, such temporary benches are also increasingly helpful in encouraging Nashvillians to safely walk and take transit during extreme heat episodes; and
WHEREAS, such temporary benches have been in violation of Section 13.32.100 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws, which prohibits “any rocks, wood, lumber, abandoned property or other obstruction whatsoever, other than a legally parked motor vehicle, to remain on the public square or any street, public right-of-way, sidewalk, or alley;” and
WHEREAS, such benches are removed from time-to-time because Section 13.32.100 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws requires that “the metropolitan police department, Nashville Fire Department, and Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT) [to] cause the prompt removal of such material;” and
WHEREAS, temporary benches are so short-term that the need for a permit for each bench would not only be a waste of government resources, but also impractical.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ENACTED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. That Section 13.32.100 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws shall be amended by deleting the section in its entirety and replacing it with the following:
A. No person or other entity shall permit any rocks, wood, lumber, abandoned property or other obstruction whatsoever, other than a legally parked motor vehicle, to remain on the public square or any street, public right-of-way, sidewalk, or alley. Officers of the metropolitan police department, Nashville Fire Department, and Nashville Department of Transportation and Multimodal Infrastructure (NDOT) shall cause the prompt removal of such material or obstruction, whether by the person or entity responsible for the obstruction or otherwise.
B. In addition to any penalty imposed for the violation of this section, the person or entity offending shall be liable to pay the reasonable expense of removing and disposing of such material or obstruction, together with all costs of storage and administrative costs.
C. For purposes of this section, abandoned property shall mean personal property that is placed in a public place or public right-of-way:
i. For at least forty-eight continuous hours,
ii. In a manner that interferes with vehicular or pedestrian traffic or otherwise creates a reasonable safety concern, or
iii. The owner of the property is arrested for violation of Tenn. Code Ann. Sections 39-17-307 or 62-30-101 et seq., or any other applicable criminal law.
D. For purposes of this section, abandoned property shall not include:
i. a motor vehicle otherwise lawfully parked;
ii. property of the metropolitan government;
iii. property that is not the subject of any lawful permit by the metropolitan government;
iv. property that does not consist of utility infrastructure; or
v. temporary seating with solid colors that is located in the public right-of-way, is not obstructing the use of the right-of-way, is not otherwise deemed hazardous, and that otherwise complies with all federal, state, and local laws regarding use of the right-of-way, including, but not limited to, chapter 6.04 of the metropolitan code of laws.