Sweeping new zoning targets Nashville housing affordability

Nashville, one of the fastest-growing Sun Belt cities over the past decade, has been working to address the housing affordability issues that accompanied its massive economic development.

Confronted with a shortage of nearly 90,000 homes, the Nashville Metro Council
made its most significant move since 2018 to shape the city’s future. It passed two groundbreaking and controversial zoning measures, overcoming strong opposition to clear their final hurdle and become law.

With the adoption of these laws, Nashville joins a growing list of cities and states working to eliminate decades of restrictive zoning covenants and regulations. This move opens the door for more “missing middle” housing and increases density near urban transit corridors.

The votes capped months of heated debate over how the city should manage rapid growth while preserving affordability and neighborhood character.

Rhetoric from opponents reached a fever pitch. They challenged housing shortage estimates and questioned how infrastructure could handle more density. Supporters of the two initiatives built a coalition of business and civic leaders to push the legislation over the finish line in the 40-member city council.

“This bill is a good first step to addressing the housing crisis in Nashville, through a data-driven approach, which establishes building standards for a diversity of building types for different stages of life and income levels,” Council Member Jennifer Gamble, a sponsor of one of the bills, said in last week’s meeting.

New residential zoning types

One ordinance establishes two new baseline zoning districts—Residential Neighborhood and Residential Limited. Both districts permit a wider variety of housing types, including townhomes, triplexes, and quadplexes, in areas that are currently dominated by single-family homes.

Individual council members would request such zoning for their respective districts.

A second ordinance expands the ability to build detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs), increasing the housing supply by boosting residential density. The council adopted a substitute version that raises parking requirements, and Metro Planning must now track permits, new units, and related infrastructure costs.

During a four-hour meeting, council members supporting the DADU ordinance described it as a modest but meaningful affordability measure, arguing that more small-scale units can provide options for middle-income residents excluded from the single-family home market.

Additionally, the council advanced a third bill capping the height of so-called “tall skinnies” at two and a half stories. For the past decade, zoning allowed detached duplexes—two houses on a single-family lot—leading to the widespread development of these houses, especially in The Nations, a trendy West Nashville neighborhood, where they have climbed from two to three stories and often command seven-figure prices.

Opponents vow to continue fighting

Opponents of the new zoning measures questioned whether city infrastructure could keep up with increased density and called for more public input. Councilmember Jeff Eslick, who voted against the core rezoning bill, argued, “upzoning without infrastructure doesn’t strengthen a neighborhood, it strains it.”

Opposition to these laws is likely to continue, much like in other cities and states. In Massachusetts, residents tried to repeal the 2021 Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Communities Act—which mandates more multifamily housing near transit stations in 177 communities—but failed to secure enough signatures for a 2026 ballot measure.

In Charlottesville, Virginia, a legal challenge over a 2023 zoning ordinance that allowed multiplex housing in single-family areas temporarily left the city without zoning. The city settled by agreeing to conduct infrastructure and transportation studies, as residents argued these should have preceded the law’s passage.

Nashville’s own zoning battles began after a councilmember rezoned 300 acres in The Nations to allow 40 units per acre, aiming to improve affordability in the rapidly gentrifying neighborhood. Opponents failed to recall him or gather enough signatures and later filed an ethics complaint, alleging intimidation and harassment during the recall effort.

Dissenters have pledged to oppose the 29 Metro Council members who supported the new zoning laws and plan further resistance as the new rules are enacted.