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An Ordinance amending Title 15 of the Metropolitan Code of Laws to amend the membership and credential requirements of the Stormwater Management Commission.
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WHEREAS, prior to January 2023, the Metro Stormwater Management Committee was comprised of seven members, three of whom were lay members from the community at large, and four of whom were registered professional engineers; and,
WHEREAS, in January 2023, ordinance no. BL2022-1528 revised the membership requirements for the Stormwater Management Committee. The ordinance retained requirements that four members be registered professional engineers. However, the ordinance replaced the three lay members with members of various professions submitted for nomination through (1) the Tennessee Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects and Tennessee Forestry Association, (2) the Greater Nashville Association of Realtors, and (3) the Nashville Bar Association. (After enactment of BL2022-1528, the name of the "Stormwater Management Committee" was changed by ordinance BL2023-1888 to "Stormwater Management Commission" approved July 21, 2023); and,
WHEREAS, the elimination of membership eligibility for lay citizens on the Stormwater Management Commission created a commission comprised entirely of registered professionals -- inadvertently eliminating perspectives reflective of the general citizenry of Davidson County; and,
WHEREAS, as currently composed, the Stormwater Management Commission differs in its composition from membership requirements for similar entities in peer cities in Tennessee. Other municipalities incorporate perspectives from a broader assimilation of individuals, including neighborhood associations, public interest groups, universities, environmental engineers, scientists, and educators; and,
WHEREAS, for example, the City of Chattanooga, Tennessee maintains a Storm Water Regulations Board whose members include an environmental engineer or environmental scientist or educator, two ...
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