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A resolution supporting District One, the Bordeaux Community, and its residents, and condemning any future environmentally unsound infrastructure, development, and services in the district.
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WHEREAS, District One, located in the northwest corner of Davidson County is home to Bordeaux, Joelton, Bells Bend, Scottsboro, and part of Whites Creek; and
WHEREAS, for decades, District One has been a predominantly African American community, home to many working- and middle-class families, and doctors and administrators from Nashville’s historically Black colleges and universities; and
WHEREAS, during the area’s infancy, many Black families worked on large, productive farms near the Cumberland River and built homes in areas like Ewing Drive, Whites Creek, and Eatons Creek; and
WHEREAS, today, a high percentage of African American families still live in District One, and areas like the Clarksville Pike corridor are home to family-owned restaurants, small businesses, and churches; and
WHEREAS, for years, community concerns regarding underinvestment, blight, and lack of resources have grown louder, with some residents referring to District One as “overlooked” and “forgotten”; and
WHEREAS, for much of its existence, District One’s communities have been riddled with and dominated by landfills, waste services, scrap metal businesses, and unchecked grading and filling; and
WHEREAS, Southern Services Landfill, a 77-acre site in the historically Black Bordeaux neighborhood, accepts more than 90 percent of all construction waste generated from Nashville’s rapid development, and has drawn complaints of noxious odors and environmental racism; and
WHEREAS, in 2017, over the protests and complaints of community leaders and residents, Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co. constructed two 30,000-horsepower natural gas compressors in Joelton which continue to operate today; and
WHEREAS, in the 2017 Assessment of Fair Housing report prepared by the Metropolitan Government and MDHA, and adopted by the Metropolitan Council through Ordinance No. BL2017-833, Bordeaux residents stated that the area has been treated as a dumping ground as evidenced by the location of a landfill, drug court, and prisons in the area; and
WHEREAS, the report further states that Bordeaux is a highly segregated, African American community with contributing factors including lack of private and public investments in specific neighborhoods including services or amenities, land use and zoning laws, lending discrimination, location and type of affordable housing, loss of affordable housing, private discrimination, and source of income discrimination; and
WHEREAS, a resounding message is clear, District One - a historically African American area of Nashville - has been neglected for too long and continues to suffer from a lack of equity and equality compared to other parts of the city; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting and proper that the Metropolitan Council examines and deliberates matters with an emphasis on equity and inclusion and supports the concerns and requests of District One residents.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE METROPOLITAN GOVERNMENT OF NASHVILLE AND DAVIDSON COUNTY:
Section 1. The Metropolitan Council hereby goes on record as supporting District One, the Bordeaux Community, and its residents.
Section 2. The Metropolitan Council further goes on record as condemning any future environmentally unsound infrastructure, development, and services in District One.
Section 3. The Metropolitan Clerk is directed to provide a copy of this resolution to the Director of the Metropolitan Department of Codes Administration and the Director of the Metropolitan Planning Department.
Section 4. This Resolution shall take effect from and after its adoption, the welfare of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County requiring it.