Nashville Council Revises Code Enforcement Policies

In a meeting that lasted more than three hours Tuesday night, Nashville city council members made several revisions to the town’s code enforcement policies. Most of their discussion centered around bringing the 45 year old policies up to date. Based on complaints voiced to Mayor Billy Ray Jones and Code Enforcement Officer David Riggs, Tuesday’s changes primarily focused on businesses dealing with automobiles. With the repair shops now included in the ordinance, storage of vehicles for more than 30 days will be prohibited. Another revision aimed at businesses providing automobile or body repairs, oil changes, tire sales and tire maintenance requires property to be kept in a condition so that it does not become unsightly, unsanitary, unsafe, or harmful to the community. Riggs said he will begin visiting today with the businesses to let them know of the council’s action. The changes were approved on an 8-3 vote with Aldermen Joe Hoen, Donna Harwell and Monica Clark casting the three votes in opposition.

A new ordinance adopted last night will require any new business to obtain a permit. The move is designed to allow officials to go over city regulations on the front end of a business start up. There is no cost to obtain the permit.

Beyond the Main Street and Commercial District, council members also made changes to code enforcement policies in residential areas. Riggs says those policies deal with items such as boats, RV’s and trailers.

The residential code enforcement changes were approved by all 11 council members in attendance.